Kiss Of Darkness

3

The dominatrix reached the room. She hadn’t been prepared for this, hadn’t believed…

She threw open the door, her heart thundering with fear, with anticipation. What had been conjecture was now proved to be true. He was there.

But someone else was there, as well. Someone unknown to her, yet she sensed his power.

She straightened, hesitating, knowing she had to make a split-second decision.

And then she saw the other man more clearly. Not his face, for his hat was drawn too low, but she saw the longbow, the way his head was bent, eyes on his target.

She backed away.

Who? What?

Then she heard screams coming from below.

Screams of shrill, uncanny terror.

All hell had broken loose.

Indecision tore at her for a moment.

Alone. She shouldn’t have been alone.

She should have seen to it that she had help with her. But she hadn’t really known what would happen here. So she was alone.

What to do?

Whatever was happening here, there was a force at work to counter evil, while down below…

The screams continued.

She turned and ran.

She could move, Nancy realized. The sound of the shattering glass had somehow freed her.

She stood, screaming—aloud, this time.

On the screen, the arrow was fired. It caught the fanged monster in the shoulder. The creature hissed, then gave an ungodly roar of fury.

It seemed to echo and echo….

A hand fell on Nancy’s arm. She looked down and shivered. Not a hand, a talon. She looked again at the woman who had tried to seduce her, who looked even less human than before.

Her grip, again, was powerful.

Chaos broke out. People were rising all around. Some, like her, were screaming…fighting.

And others—like the woman beside her—were shrieking in fury, attacking.

Something seemed to fly into the room. A shadow, the essence of darkness and speed. As Nancy stood, a continual scream flowing from her lips, the woman was ripped away from her.

“Get out!” The command was harsh. Male? Female? She couldn’t tell.

She was all too willing to obey, however. She ran for the entry, terror lending her speed.

Behind her, someone cried her name. She was afraid to turn, even though she knew it was Mary calling out to her. She was afraid to stop.

Mary caught up to her, still dressed in the gossamer gown. In the back of Nancy’s mind, she knew it was cold out and that her friend would freeze.

Tears were streaming down Mary’s cheeks. “We’ve got to get out.”

Someone shouted behind them. They heard a cry of savage fury, saw a body go flying across the room and slam against the bar. They heard a snap, the sound of bones breaking.

They stumbled for the door and burst out into the night. Mary stopped dead still. “Jeremy is still in there.”

She turned. Nancy grasped her by the shoulders. “You can’t go back in there.”

“Jeremy tried to save me,” Mary said. Her teeth were chattering.

Someone burst through the door behind them, someone they had seen at the bar. He practically shoved them out of the way, then stopped, staring wildly around.

He turned back. He was large and well muscled. His eyes, however, echoed their own terror.

“Got to get away,” he said in German-accented English. He started to run, then stopped, stripping his jacket from his shoulders, throwing it toward them. Nancy caught the jacket and automatically wrapped it around Mary’s shoulders. The German man continued to stare at them. “Get away,” he said tonelessly.

“To where?” Nancy wailed.

But the man was gone, running blindly toward the forest.

“We’ve got to go, too,” Nancy said.

“Jeremy,” Mary repeated.

Others began to burst out the door. Like the man before them, they began racing madly toward the mist-filled forest.

Nancy dragged her friend in the same direction, though Mary felt like lead. Nancy stared at her and realized that she was in shock. Her eyes were wide; her teeth continued to chatter. She was as pale as ash.

Nancy knew she had to move for the both of them. She dragged Mary with her, heading toward what looked like a trail.

A new sound made itself heard, but what it meant didn’t register in her mind. She just knew they had to get away.

“Come on, come on,” she pleaded. And then, at last, Mary began to move. Through the mist, Nancy saw the trail more clearly. She staggered toward it.

Jeremy was in agony the minute consciousness returned. The bursting pain in his head was overwhelming. He tried to open his eyes but couldn’t. He became aware of movement, of shouts, of a fight.

He heard grunts of ferocious determination and raw anger. Something fell, close to him. He forced his lids open. He could see figures…men, flying at one another. Something else landed at his side.

Eyes open. Steady his head. Ignore the agony.

Get to his feet.

Using the wall, he managed to rise. Once he was up, he fought a savage wave of nausea that threatened to cause him to black out again. There was a thud. And then…

Silence.

He turned, aware that he needed to flee, but he stumbled. Someone was striding toward him. He screamed, throwing up his arms, too exhausted to fight.

His mind cried out that he should remain standing.

But his body gave out, and he began to fall.

Nancy found a place under the trees where at least the blast of the wind was blocked. She remained in terror that any minute they would be attacked by a monster, but she knew she couldn’t possibly walk all the way back to the village with Mary. Her friend’s feet were bare. She all but needed to be carried, and Nancy didn’t have the strength for that. She lowered her head, suddenly recognizing the newest sound.

Sirens. Thank God! There were police, even here, deep in the shrouded forest, in this no man’s land of darkness and mist….

The police would find Jeremy.

“Miss?”

She froze. The voice had come from behind her. Terror snaked up her spine once again. She couldn’t turn.

It had been a man’s voice, deep, husky. There had been nothing threatening in it, but still…

“Tend to your friend. The police are on the way,” the voice continued.

She spun around. There was no one there. Wait! On the ground, by the tree. Jeremy. As she stared at him, he groaned.

She raced to his side. He groaned again. She fell to the forest floor, taking his head on her lap. “Jeremy, you’re alive. Speak to me. Are you hurt? Hang on, the police are coming.”

He blinked and opened his eyes, staring at her as if he didn’t know her for a minute. The he blinked again and tried to sit up, groaning. “How did I get here?” he murmured. He gripped her by the shoulders. “Mary. Where’s Mary?”

Nancy pointed. Mary was seated against another of the sheltering trees, staring straight ahead, her eyes blank even as they were wide open.

Jeremy stared at Nancy, then touched her cheek, and struggled to rise. He made it halfway and crawled over to Mary.

“Mary?”

She didn’t seem to see or hear him.

“Oh, Mary,” he murmured, taking her into his arms. She didn’t protest or respond. After a moment he set her against the tree again and looked at Nancy. “Help me. I’ve got to make sure the police find us.”

Nancy helped him stagger to his feet. “Stay with Mary,” he commanded.

Blood was trickling down his forehead. Nancy started to say something, then didn’t. What did it matter? They had to have help.

In the silence after Jeremy left, she became aware of the screams of terror, still echoing, audible even over the sirens.

A minute later, through the trees, she saw the police vehicles drive up. Suddenly the night was aglow with flashing lights.

The police seemed to be everywhere, helping those who had stumbled outside, those who were injured and those who were in shock.

“It’s going to be okay now, Mary,” she whispered gently, hugging her friend. She wondered if she should get Mary up, try to force her back toward the house. But as she sat there, shivering, she saw that Jeremy had found help and was bringing the police toward them.

She began to weep.

As she did, she looked up at a sky streaked with black and red….

At a night sky that seemed to bleed.

Jeremy didn’t go to the police station with some of the others who had been rounded up, screaming and in panic, outside the old castle. He’d been whisked off to the hospital, like Mary, because of the head wound he’d sustained.

It didn’t get him out of having to deal with a police officer.

Detective Florenscu sat in a chair by his bed, dark eyes brooding, brow creased with a frown, as he listened to Jeremy’s account of the events.

Then he shook his head. Behind him, another officer cleared his throat. Florenscu looked back at his partner, and sighed. “Mass hysteria,” he said in English.

“I am not hysterical,” Jeremy argued. He winced. His head still hurt if he talked too loudly.

Florenscu sighed. “We searched the place thoroughly. There were no signs of vampires—because vampires do not exist. But even in a small village, there is crime. And here, with so many tourists, men and women of unsavory character are drawn to our streets. Our only chance of finding them is with the help of the victims. With your help.”

“I’ve told you what I saw,” Jeremy said softly, closing his eyes.

“Please, you must keep trying to remember everything. Tomorrow you can go through books of photos for me.”

“Ask Mary,” Jeremy said.

“I’m afraid no one can ask your friend anything. She remains in shock. She doesn’t speak, she just stares.”

Jeremy roused himself. “She’ll come out of it. She has to.”

Florenscu shrugged. “When she is more stable, we’ll see that your friend gets home to the United States.”

“Nancy?” Jeremy whispered.

“She is waiting. You may speak with her now.” Florenscu rose. “She says someone brought you out to them in the trees. Who?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t conscious.”

“You have no idea?”

“No.” Jeremy shook his head. He winced. That wasn’t true.

“The man who fought the vampire,” he said aloud.

“There are no vampires,” Florenscu told him. “My men have recovered a large amount of alcohol and drugs. They are demons enough.”

“There was a vampire,” Jeremy said determinedly.

Florenscu sighed wearily. “This is Transylvania,” he said with a shrug. “Everyone wants there to be a vampire.”

“I’m not lying.”

“No. You are not lying. You are mistaken. But you are trying to be honest with me. So, tell me, what about this other man?”

“He stopped the vampire.”

“With a stake?”

The weary humor was apparent in Florenscu’s voice.

“With a longbow.”

“Touched with holy water, I imagine.”

“I wouldn’t know. All I know is that he saved my life.”

“Well, that is good. Let us hope I can find him and get some real answers.”

Florenscu rose and turned to leave at last, his partner following him. The minute he was gone, Nancy burst in. She rushed to him, all but throwing herself on him, then drawing away quickly. “I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“Hug me whether it hurts or not. You’re warm and alive.”

She sat down on the side of his bed and looked at him, troubled. “They don’t believe me. Not a word I say.”

“It’s a little late, but…well, I did say we shouldn’t go. Have you seen Mary?”

“Yes.” She looked down.

“And?”

“She just stares straight ahead. But she eats when she’s fed, drinks water. We’ll get her home. The doctor said that she might snap out of it in a day or two or…”

“Or?”

“Never,” Nancy said with a wince.

Jeremy’s mind reeled in a new kind of agony. Mary. He had failed her. And yet…it was a miracle that they were all still alive.

He shook his head; it hurt, and he warned himself not to try that again. “If we could find the man in the trench coat…. It was black, like his hat. I never saw his face.” He stared at Nancy. “He’ll know. He’s the one who brought me out.”

There was a soft tapping at the door. They turned simultaneously.

Jessica Fraser was standing there, her soft blond hair rippling down her back, her immense blue eyes filled with concern. He felt a little flutter in his heart, a stir of appreciation. And he felt like a real kid again, glad an adult had come to help him.

“How are you?” she asked, entering.

Jeremy stared at her. “Grateful to be alive,” he told her. “Mary…”

“I just saw her. We have to have faith.”

She smiled at them, walking to the bedside, touching his forehead. “I was due to fly out today,” Jessica said. “But the police said your parents wouldn’t be here until tonight or tomorrow morning, so…I wanted to be sure you were all safe before I left.”

Jeremy felt a pang. “You don’t have to stay.”

She laughed softly. “Maybe I do. You need looking after. You’re very lucky, you know. There have been similar disturbances in several other places. The authorities believe there’s a dangerous cult growing larger on a daily basis, well financed, with members who are adept at setting up in various countries and luring in victims. What on earth made you do something so stupid?” she asked.

He looked at Nancy. Nancy looked at him. Mary, they both thought. But Mary was barely alive, and he would never blame her.

“Stupidity,” he told Jessica. Then his eyes widened. “You were the one who went to the police, who told them something was up.”

“The minute I found your note,” she told him.

Nancy let out a little sob. “Thank you.”

“I was young once, too,” Jessica said ruefully. “Jeremy,” she asked, “how did you get away?”

Here I go again, he thought. Tell the truth and sound like an idiot? Or lie?

He took a deep breath and opted for the truth.

“There was a man,” he said simply. He almost laughed. “There was a good man, and a bad man. Or a good man and a monster, a good man…and something that was pure evil. In the end, I’m pretty sure the good man won. Think the police will ever believe that as a story without insisting I’m the victim of mass hysteria?”

“You should rest now,” Jessica told him, not pressing for more.

“Hard to do.”

“Are you afraid?”

“You bet.”

“I can stick around,” she told Nancy, “if you want to go back to your hostel and sleep.”

Nancy shook her head. “I can’t go anywhere. I want to stay with Jeremy.”

Jessica nodded her understanding. “I’ll go sit with Mary for a while.”

“Jessica,” Jeremy said, then hesitated.

“Yes?”

“Don’t leave. Please. Stay with her. Don’t leave her alone. Stay with her all night. Please.”

“I will. I promise. I’ll be right down the hall, so call me if you need anything, if you feel uneasy…or just to talk.”

Nancy fell asleep in the chair in his room, and he knew that Mary was just down the hall, and that she wasn’t alone, that Jessica was with her. That seemed important, somehow.

Eventually he slept, but it was a restless sleep. It was as if he could hear the wind, and the wind was whispering a single word.

Vampyr.

But vampires weren’t real.

Yes they were.

Panic seized him. He tried to awaken.

He thought that he opened his eyes. He was suddenly certain that a man was standing over him. A man wearing a low-brimmed hat and a railway frock coat.

Had the man come to check on him? Had he been to see Mary?

But Jessica was with her.

And this man wouldn’t hurt Mary. He had saved their lives.

Hadn’t he?

When Jeremy looked again, the man was gone and the panic left him. He felt a bizarre sense of safety.

He closed his eyes again, and this time he slept deeply.

4

“So, Mr. Peterson, if you don’t mind, we need to start with the basics,” Jessica said, smiling. She had her notebook open, her pen in hand, seated in a large, overstuffed leather recliner while Jacob Peterson, her last patient of the day, sprawled on the sofa in her New Orleans office. She never suggested that anyone lie down; she simply suggested they get comfortable. For Jacob Peterson, being comfortable apparently meant half sitting, scrunched down in the sofa, legs sprawled out and fingers laced as he scowled.

It was her first session with him, but over the years, she’d worked with many teenagers like Jake, as well as adults.

“The basics,” he murmured. “The basics are that my folks are making me come here.”

“Because they’re worried about you. Tell me, do you believe you’re a vampire?” She kept her tone serious, nonjudgmental.

“I should have known years ago,” the boy told her. “I stay up all night.”

“So I understand. And it makes it very difficult for you to get to school.”

He waved a hand in the air. “School is for mortals.”

“Mr. Peterson—”

“Jake. Just call me Jake.”

“Jake, let’s say you are a vampire. Even vampires have to make a living.”

He frowned, startled. “Vampires…have to make a living?”

She leaned forward. “Jake, there are diseases that create a physiological desire to drink blood.”

“I don’t deserve blood, I need it.”

“You need blood, or you’ve convinced yourself you need blood?” she asked.

“I’m not the only one,” he said defensively. “Not the only one who needs blood.”

“I’m not sure I’m the person you should be seeing. I’m a psychologist. If you really need blood, we should be looking at a number of physical tests.”

He shook his head. “They—I—no.”

“Why not?”

“They won’t find anything.” He scowled again. “Don’t you understand? I’m a vampire.”

She lowered her head, hiding her sigh. She had had this very conversation so often. Too many people came to this part of the country because they thought they were vampires, or because they wanted to rebel and become part of a cult. Some had even committed murders, so convinced were they of their own supernatural tendencies.

She thought back to the horror she had seen in Transylvania. Perpetuated by men, or by pure evil?

“I am a vampire,” Jake said.

“When did you first realize you were a vampire?” she asked.

“You believe me?”

She put down her notebook and uncrossed her legs, leaning forward. “Jake, listen, you’re in a lot of trouble. I just want to help you, but I can only do that if you’ll tell what’s really going on with you. Okay?”

He nodded and leaned back against the sofa, looking tired. Much better than before, when his attitude had reeked of sheer hostility.

Jake started to talk. As she had expected, he started off with esoteric words, trying to make her see a different world, one in which he wanted to exist. But once he started talking, his words flowed with very little encouragement from her. It became clear that Jake’s case was very similar to several she had dealt with before. After all, this was New Orleans, city of voodoo and vampires.

Jake was a brilliant kid, nice-looking, if a little thin. But he was shy and didn’t speak to girls easily. He was great with a computer. He’d read extensively.

And everything he had read he had skewed in a certain direction.

“You said there are others like you,” she said softly. “That you feel the urge for blood most often during nights when there’s a full moon. And that you walk frequently during those nights. So…where do you walk? What do you do?”

He flushed a beet red suddenly. “Um, well, once…I paid for it.”

Jessica frowned. “Paid for…it? Do you mean sex?”

“Yeah, well, that…and blood.”

That was New Orleans, too. Most diversions could be found somewhere—if you had the money to pay for them.

“I see. You just wound up at a peep show, or…someone solicited you on the street, or…?”

She was startled when she saw that her question had left him seriously perplexed.

“Jake?” she prodded gently.

“I—I don’t remember.” He stared at her, still looking lost and confused. “I mean…I knew that I had drunk blood. But now that you ask…”

“Were you alone?” she asked him.

The confusion was gone. There was a hard mask in its place. “I can’t tell you who I was with. I won’t tell you who I was with. You can’t make me.”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything,” she said with a shrug. “Tell me what you want, but I hope you’ll learn to speak freely.”

“There are others. Many others. And more are coming,” he said.

“Oh?”

Once again he appeared confused. Her heartbeat quickened. This was worrying.

“I’m not the only one,” he said.

“I’m concerned about you, Jake,” she told him. “And since I can’t make you tell me anything, I’ll tell you what I think, and we’ll leave it at that. You have friends who feel as you do, and you were out with one or more of them. I don’t think you had a particular destination in mind, and you wandered into a bad area, where you were accosted. Don’t take offense—you were easy prey. And when you left, you were probably minus every cent you had in your wallets, and maybe a nice watch or some jewelry, as well.”

His hand instantly went to his throat, though he wasn’t wearing any kind of medallion. His lips tightened, and she could tell that she had hit on the truth.

“Jake, I want you to do a couple of things for me. First, we’ll rule nothing out, okay? So I’m going to have you go to your primary-care physician and get a complete physical, all right?”

“Look, I’m fine. I just—”

“Then, because it would be good for you, you’re going to see a nutritionist and start on an exercise program.” Before he could start complaining, she added, “Jake, I know you’re extremely intelligent and can slide right through all your schoolwork, and that part of the reason you don’t care if you make it to class is that you’re way ahead of most of the work going on. That may mean you need to skip ahead, or start adding some university classes onto your schedule. We have a long way to go to get to the root of your unhappiness.”

“I’m not unhappy.”

“You’re not?”

He flushed again, looking down. “I just don’t belong.”

“Then we’ll find out where you do belong. And where you want to go.”

“Games,” he said.

“What?”

“I’d like to design computer games. I think I could do it. I think I’d be good at it.”

“I’ll bet you would be,” she assured him. “Next week, same time. And I’ll give your parents a call to—”

“I thought you couldn’t repeat anything I said here,” he demanded angrily.

“I’m not going to repeat anything. I just want them to get you set up with the right professionals. Now, if you want to say anything else, if you think we haven’t covered anything, we still have a few minutes,” she told him.

She was startled when he stood and took a step that brought him right in front of her chair. His eyes were alight; he was tense, excited. “I heard you were there,” he told her. “In Transylvania. I read about it in the paper. I heard you blew the whistle on the vampires, that you were the one who called the police.”

Oh, God, this again!

But she didn’t intend to be secretive and feed into his fantasies. She stared at him levelly.

“I met some students over there. One of them left me a note, and I passed it on to the police,” she said.