Hours later, Esperanza sat on the edge of a rocky cliff. Most of her hair now fell around her shoulders. Dirt smudged her cheeks, and the smell of smoke clung to her. "Odd."
The still statue of a man finally spoke. His voice was hoarse. "What's odd?"
"This feeling I'm having."
"Feeling?"
"Guilt."
His head cranked around to look at her. "For killing those—those-."
She resisted the urge to smile, knowing he would not appreciate it. "No, for making you see something you did not want to see."
A deep ragged breath jerked its way from his body. His hand reached up and yanked off the mask. She doubted he had ever worn the outfit outside of his cave without that mask. It protected him in more ways than one. She understood the safe feeling of a mask.
"They were vampires." Each word spoke of disbelief.
"Yes," she answered. "They were."
"You said earlier you needed my help. You didn't need my help."
But she had. They both knew it. Diego, with his knowledge of the area and how Tasia's lover thought, had listed several possible hiding locations. Fortunately, the first on his list had held a group of vampire.
He stared at the sword lying beside him, still wrapped in its sheath, as if he'd never seen one before. "I stabbed him." Esperanza had seen it. At the beginning of their fight, he had tried to treat the enemy as if they were alive. He'd quickly realized differently. She thought she could live for centuries more and not forget the look of horror on his face as he'd stabbed his opponent. Not because his opponent kept fighting, but because he had actually put his blade into someone.
"He looked human. I felt sick. But then he kept moving. My strike should have killed him, but it left him undaunted."
Busy fighting her own battles, preparing for the mass killing she knew she had to do, she had seen his battle and feared he would be killed tonight. Even though she had told him all he needed to know, she knew he remained unconvinced of her sanity let alone the information she'd given. "He felt it. And if you struck him enough times, he would have fallen."
"But not died."
"No."
"Beheading. And fire."
Fire. She had used it tonight. Ignored her own terror of the flames and tossed several torches into the dark cave. Heard the screams. Watched some former friends burn. "Yes, we only die through beheading and fire."
"Not even age kills you."
"I look the same today as the day I turned. Time lacks the ability to affect me," she said. Her words were lies spoken in truth. She did look the same physically. However, her eyes spoke of a knowledge that would have horrified that young lady. And time affected her every day even if it could not line her face.
"Tell me the story again."
Dawn would be present in less than an hour. Standing, she offered him her hand. "I need to get back to my cave. Sunlight can harm my skin much faster than it can harm yours."
He nodded and accepted her help standing. He swayed as he leaned down to gather his sword. "Sunlight. Turns you to ash."
She winced, remembering Paris. "Not exactly. But the pain makes you yearn to be ash."
Tornado whined. Zorro blinked as if forgetting his stallion had been with him tonight. "As we go to your cave, you'll tell me again about vampires."
They were silent for the first 100 yards. "Fortunately, as we head towards my home, you'll also be heading home."
"Home," he said, putting his mask back on his face. He sounded more like the confident male he should be. He tripped over his feet, and grabbed Tornado to steady himself. "Victoria."
Ah, yes, the appointment with his wife he'd mentioned earlier. "Tell her the truth," she recommended. The sky was beautiful and clear. Not a night that should've seen so much death. When she returned her cave, when she was alone, she would cry herself to sleep.
"Tell her the truth?" Zorro's laughter mocked her. "Tell her I was watching vampires feast on animals' blood? Tell her I watched as you set fire to a group of men? That I searched the caves as soon as the flames expired, expecting to find half-burned carcasses but instead found nothing but ash?"
Esperanza stopped walking and turned to face her new ally. "Yes." She turned and began walking towards her cave. The sound of the horse's hooves told her that Zorro was following her.
With human hearing, she would not have heard him sigh, "I cannot tell her."
"Why not? She'll believe you." Victoria would believe the man if he told her he could build a machine to take them to the moon. Esperanza thought that Victoria's doubts about her marriage weren't really about her husband.
"She'll believe I'm crazy."
They walked a few more yards without speaking. "She's your strength, Diego."
"I know that, Esperanza. I've always known."
Shaking her head, she reached up and released the rest of her hair. "You have done a lousy job sharing that information with her."
Last night, he would have disagreed, she thought as he remained silent. "Probably," he agreed after a few more steps.
The dry ground crunched beneath their feet. Her boots were practical. Necessary. Still, a part of her wanted to take them off and run barefoot. "Tell her. Let her know that you adore her. And trust her."
"That's never been in question."
"No?" The stars were really beautiful tonight. She sighed and reminded herself that the war was only starting. Something had changed in the vampire world. She saw enemies working together. Vampires were starting to strain against the rules that had bound them for centuries.
It was a war that could last for years. Decades. The weight of it pressed down on her shoulders, but she knew now that she was ready to fight it. But she needed allies. Needed them to trust her and to help her fight.
So, she opened her mouth and began telling her first ally the story of a place called Atlantis and the desire of some scientists to rid the world of death.
Such an arrogant desire. One that destroyed their society. She could only hope it wouldn't destroy the world.
Z Z Z
His head was too far from the ground. His arms too long, and his feet too big. His eyes blurred as he searched through drawer after drawer. It had to be here somewhere. Even though he tried to carefully shut one drawer, it still banged against the cabinet.
"Diego?" his wife's voice said from their bed.
"Go to sleep, Victoria," he said. Sleep would keep her safe from this twisted world they lived in.
Her hand touched his back as yet another drawer failed to give up the treasure he needed. He flinched, not realizing she had gotten out of bed. "Diego?"
"I'm sorry I woke you."
"Woke me?" Her hand pulled away from him. In his peripheral vision, he saw her arms cross. "Diego, you have been gone from our home since yesterday morning."
"Yes," he said, pushing aside books and papers in his search. "I freed Rico's family, and then I helped find Emilio."
"I know, but-"
"Then, I had to track the bandits that robbed the coach." Why did they always rob the coach around Los Angeles? Surely thieves should be smart enough to attack it at any part of the route except Los Angeles. He always captured them. Where was it?
"And you caught them and sent them back to the pueblo last night. Father told me. I waited up for you-" He slammed that drawer shut and opened another. It should be here. "Diego, what's wrong?"
"You should lie down, get some more sleep. You and the baby need your rest," he said. Yes, rest. No rest for the wicked. Was he wicked? Esperanza told him that he could become one of those creatures, that he carried something inside of him that would allow the transformation.
His wife's hands gripped both of his arms. "Diego, look at me."
"You need rest," he repeated, continuing to search through the drawer in spite of his restrained arms.
"Diego, what happened after you defeated the bandits?" Victoria's voice was firm. Insistent. Like Esperanza's. Telling him he had to help defeat an army of vampires or the world as he knew it would be destroyed.
Memories of last night swam before his eyes. Of burning men and women. Of a man who only blinked when stabbed with his blade. Of being desperate enough to stab a man. A man who was no longer a man.
"You're trembling." Victoria's voice was no longer firm. It trembled with him.
"I-" He spotted it, lying beneath an old journal. He grasped it, pulled it free. He turned to face his wife, pulling one of her hands free and thrusting his find into her palm. "You must keep this on you always."
Her eyes widened as the diamonds gleamed at her. She tried to hand it back to him. "I can't keep this on me-"
Its value was priceless in more ways than one. For Diego, it only mattered that his mother owned it and used it. For thieves, the diamonds and precious metals were the find of a lifetime. For a historian, the history it had seen and been a part of was unbelievable. For a craftsman, the hours someone had put in creating such a work of art could only be held in awe.
Now he prayed it would keep his wife safe. He wrapped his hand around hers, keeping the rosary in her palm. "Keep it on you. Always."
"Diego, this is your mother's-"
"You will keep it with you. Always. Promise."
She opened her mouth to protest, then stopped and studied him. Whatever she saw made her nod. "I will. I promise. Now you need to get some sleep."
Sleep? He would never sleep again. "I have too much-"
"You are getting into our bed and getting some sleep, Diego." The firm, insistent voice was back.
He swayed. "I need-"
"Sleep," she said, gently pushing him towards their bed. She began unbuttoning his shirt. Part of him wanted to protest, but he lacked the strength to even speak. Heavy arms and clumsy fingers helped her finish undressing him. When she lifted the sheets, he climbed in without protest. And when she got in beside him and wrapped her arms around him, he allowed the darkness to overtake him.
Z Z Z
He sat up straight, gasping for breath in an airless world. "It's all right, Diego," a calming voice told him as cool fingers worked their way through his hair. "You were having a nightmare."
Nightmare? Yes, a nightmare. Of a world where the humans were cattle waiting to be picked as the night's dinner. Mendoza's screams as the vampires took him into the slaughterhouse from the field rang in his ears. The thought of eating beef made him nauseous.
He heard water being poured into a basin and saw his wife dipping in a cloth. She shuffled over to him and began wiping the sweat from his brow. "I was getting you something to eat and when I came back you were tossing and turning and yelling 'no'," she told him.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the coolness. Why had he been dreaming of vampires? His eyes sprang open as he remembered. He grasped Victoria's arm. "The rosary?"
She pointed to her waist, where the rosary was gently tucked into the waistband of her skirt. "I've received more than a few dark looks. A rosary wasn't meant to be worn, Diego."
"As long as it keeps you safe."
"Safe?" He waited for her to ask questions, but instead she stood from her perch on the edge of the bed and motioned for him to move to her side. "You need a dry place to eat," she said as she went to gather the tray.
"I should get up and join you for breakfast-"
"Breakfast was over hours ago," she said, walking around to her side of the bed. Diego did as he'd been instructed and scooted over.
"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to eat alone." Of course, it could be argued that their too silent breakfasts were worse than eating alone.
"Father joined me," she said, as she put the tray in his lap.
Alejandro had started eating an earlier breakfast months ago. Diego knew his father hated the tension between his son and his daughter-in-law. He also knew that Alejandro's disappointment in him had also played a part in forcing his father from a family breakfast. "He did?"
"Yes," she said with a smile, sitting carefully on the edge. "Although he also frowned when he saw the rosary." Diego had nothing to say so he took a sip of his chocolate. "Everything is apparently going as nature intended in the breeding shed," Victoria said, asking no questions again. "The bandits are to be tried next week. Mendoza has been given extra duties for telling Zorro that the coach had been attacked."
"How did DeSoto know?"
She smiled. "Mendoza let it slip."
Diego grinned. He knew Mendoza felt pride in being called 'friend' by Zorro. He probably even felt pride for being such a good friend to Don Diego. However, Diego honestly believed he got more from their friendship than Mendoza did. He thought he would never understand how a man with such a large heart had become a soldier. For this army.
Then Diego reminded himself that Mendoza had not joined the alcalde's army. He had joined the army of the Colonial Military Government, an army that had bravely defended the settlers with little reward. And Diego understood why Mendoza stayed, too. Los Angeles was his home, and he did what he could to protect the citizens from harm. He also protected the younger soldiers from the alcalde's rage.
"Rumor also has that little Emilio has been given some severe punishments himself, including some chores that no little boy would enjoy." She took a sip from his glass of orange juice.
Diego moved his wrenched shoulder. "As long as he stays off cliffs for a while, I'm happy."
"You were hurt?"
Victoria noticed too much sometimes. "Just a little."
She nodded. "Raul came by earlier-" He tensed at the name and she stopped speaking. "You've never liked Raul. Why?"
A question. One he wanted to answer. To better understand. "He's a charming man."
Victoria laughed. "True. But there are many charming men in Los Angeles. And a charming man who is both efficient and honest has been a big help to me."
"I thought-" Diego took in a deep breath, admitting one of his deepest fears. "I thought you cared for him."
"I do," she said, frowning. "He's helped me-" She set down the orange juice on the tray. The liquid swayed back and forth from the force. "You thought a held a tendre for him?"
"Yes." And had been in agony for it. "You are not the only one who thought they had not lived up to expectations."
She looked away. "Is that why you went to Tasia?"
The apple he had been eating turned in his stomach. "No, no, no. Victoria, Tasia is-" A vampire. He couldn't tell her that truth. "She's not what you think."
The pain in her eyes ripped through him. "Her lipstick was on you. Her perfume clung to your clothes."
"She kissed me." And almost turned him into a vampire, according to Esperanza.
Victoria shifted away from him, obviously knowing that his words were not a complete truth. "You were tempted."
To be able to see the future. To be able to experience what his limited knowledge of science said was impossible. He was still tempted. A small part of him yearned for the knowledge that Tasia and Esperanza held. The experiences they had been a part of and the history they had lived. "Yes," he admitted in spite of himself.
He looked at her shattered face and remembered Esperanza's words. She was his strength. She was the reason he kept fighting when the weight of responsibility seemed too much to bear. But he could never share the truths he learned last night with her. Could he?
"You've not asked me about last night."
"I'm waiting," she told him.
"Waiting?"
She bit her lip. "To see if you put the mask back on."
His first thought was of the black mask he wore all too often. Then he thought of her words about the mask of Don Diego. She was waiting for him to act as if he had not a care in the world. Even knowing it could damage his marriage, he yearned to put that mask back on. It was comfortable. Safe. "I don't want to tell you about last night."
He felt her pulling away from him even though she physically remained still. "Because you don't trust me."
"Because I don't want you to be part of it."
"Am I not a part of you?"
Their gazes met, a battle was being fought, and Diego knew he was going to lose. "I don't want to put you in danger."
"When you first told me-"
He smiled. "You mean when you first forced me to reveal what you already knew."
Her smile held not even a hint of guilt. "After I first made you admit that you were Diego, you shared everything with me. You told me about Zorro's rides. Now, I find out from everyone but you."
He frowned. "I tell you."
"When?" she demanded, leaning forward.
"I told you about the cattle."
"In the tavern. Months ago."
"I never decided not to tell you," he said, wincing at his poor defense.
"You leave this home many times without even telling me that you are going to ride as Zorro," she said.
An accusation that was true. That decision he had made. "I don't want you in harm's way."
She threw her hands in the air. "What? You think I'm going to demand that you let me ride with you?"
"I told you about the Gomez gang and you came to the pueblo to see it and nearly died!"
She blinked. "What?"
He reached for her blouse and pushed it aside. The scar had faded but his memories of the day had not. "This wound could have been much more serious."
"I know." She laid her hands over his. "But, Diego, I wasn't in the plaza because you told me you were going to ride. I was there because I needed to be at the tavern."
"You have no need to be at the tavern, Victoria. Your staff-"
"I had every need," she said with a firmness that surprised him. "I had to be there."
"Raul was doing a great job. You had said so just the night before, Victoria."
"Yes, he was doing a great job. I wasn't there to handle a problem. I was there because at the tavern I felt competent."
"Victoria, you are the most competent person I know."
The sheen of tears in her eyes shocked him. "I didn't feel it that day."
"Why?"
Her jaw dropped open, and he wondered again what he had missed in his wife's life. He took great pride in being observant in his science. "Our dinner party."
Diego remembered. It had been her first time serving as the de la Vega hostess since their marriage. "Our dinner party was perfect."
"Diego, you know what problems-"
He moved his hand from her old wound to her face. His thumb caressed her cheek. "Problems that our guests never suspected."
"Doña Abegail-"
"Victoria," he said, starting to understand how much he had failed her. "Anything she said or hinted was pure conjecture on her part. She was aiming to hurt you."
"So much went wrong, Diego," she said, leaning against his hand.
"And so much went right. Victoria, your selection of guests was perfect. Except for Doña Abegail." She smiled slightly, and he felt warmed by it. "The conversation never stalled once. It was interesting. I think everyone had a good time. Even Doña Abegail."
Leaning over he pushed the tray over to the other edge and scooted towards the middle of the bed. He held out his hand and Victoria took it, letting him guide her into their bed. Sinking down, he wrapped his arms around her waist and settled his head on her round stomach. His child greeted him with a tiny jab.
"I'm sorry."
Victoria stopped stroking his hair for a moment. "Why?"
"Because I failed you. Because my father warned me that I would need to protect you from the vipers, and I didn't," he admitted.
"It's not all your fault," she murmured. "I never told you what was happening."
"Why?"
She sighed and shifted her body to get more comfortable. "I wasn't used to confiding in you."
He leaned on his arm, looking up at her face. "I know that Zorro never had time for confidences, but I thought you were used to talking to your friend Diego."
"About most things, yes," she said. "But there was a lot hid from him, too."
"You never told him about your engagement." Diego had been torn then between the joy of her loyalty to Zorro and the knowledge that she kept secrets from Diego.
"And I never told him about the whispers. Or those that were willing to speak above a whisper."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
She remained silent for several minutes. Finally, she sighed. "A woman who gallivants openly with an outlaw has to hear certain opinions of herself expressed."
The nausea was back. "People dared to insult you."
Her smile was sad. "Most only did it behind their hands as I walked past. Some dared to say it openly."
"It?"
"Zorro's whore."
Rage tore through him. "Who dared to call you that name?"
She grasped his shoulders and made him lie back down beside her. His ragged breathing filled the air as she calmly stroked his chest. "Who?" he demanded.
"I'm not going to tell you. Ever," she said.
"Victoria-"
"You'll be happy to know that Mendoza and a few other friends took care of it. Always." The grin on her face told him that the revenge had been sweet.
He had been causing her pain for years. "I should've been the one to defend you. Why did you never tell Diego?"
"At first, because I didn't want him to tell Don Alejandro."
He tried to relax. "You knew my father would defend you."
"Yes," she said. "And because I didn't want him to look down on me."
"Victoria-"
"A part of me, some crazy part of me, thought maybe I deserved it. Maybe some part of me wanted to fight my own battles."
Leaning his forehead against hers, he said, "And later? Why did not tell me later?"
"Because I didn't want Diego looking down on me either. And because I knew he would protect me, perhaps even more than his father."
His mind was supplying a thousand ways he could get revenge against the unknown people. He was already making plans to talk to Mendoza to learn who they were and what had been done to them. "After you knew I was Zorro?"
She giggled. "No, the rumors had stopped by then. Too old to be interesting. And too many people adored Zorro for anyone to offer an insult to his lady."
Pulling away slightly, he stared into her eyes. "You trusted me to protect you? Boring Diego?"
"Protective Diego. Loving, caring Diego. Who had as much power as his father and never overtly used it. Who managed to always make people think that their actions were their own ideas instead of ideas planted by him." She smiled at his surprise and rubbed her hand against his stubble. "I told you once before I was always watching, even when I wasn't always aware of why."
"I'm glad you watched."
"I'm sorry I didn't watch close enough," she admitted. It was an apology she had given a long time ago, when she had forced her best friend to admit he was the man who loved her from behind a black mask.
Her gentle stroking was lulling him to sleep. He yawned. "I should get up; there is much to do."
"You should rest," she said. His aching muscles agreed with the wise woman. A few more minutes of rest could be beneficial. So Diego again let sleep overtake him.
Z Z Z
"Ah, Victoria! Have you seen Diego?"
His daughter-in-law's lips curved into a slow, satisfied grin. "He's still asleep, Father."
Alejandro blinked. "Asleep? At this hour."
"He needs to rest, Father."
He remembered her earlier words. "Is he not feeling better? Perhaps we should send for Doctor Hernandez."
Victoria closed her book and rubbed her belly. "He needs rest. He hasn't slept well for some time."
"No," Alejandro agreed. "He hasn't." He didn't say the words that came to mind. He ignored them. Or tried to. He wanted to believe his son would honor his marriage vows. He wanted to believe that Diego was not worn out from spending too many nights in another woman's bed.
"He's not." Victoria looked at him without blinking.
"I beg your pardon."
"Your thoughts. I could read them on your face. Diego is not in Tasia's bed," she said.
Alejandro would rather be punched in the stomach than have this conversation. "Victoria, I would never-"
"Talk to me about your fears?" She sighed. "Seems to be a de la Vega trait. One I share."
He took a step further into the sun drenched library. "Victoria?"
Frowning, she rubbed her shoulder. "Did you know how upset Diego was about this?"
He remembered the pale skin, the way Diego had been unable to stand still as the doctor examined her. The way he disappeared after she fell into a drugged sleep. And yet somehow until his son's startling revelation, he had never thought about Diego's response, simply assigning him the role of jealous husband without ever wondering if Diego wanted that role. "I do now."
"It was nothing." Her voice spoke of confusion, awe, and humility.
The blood had appeared to pour from her shoulder after the dagger had hit and then bounced from her flesh. Hernandez commented that such a small wound shouldn't produce so much blood but that they often did. Raul had immediately carried her into the tavern as Zorro disappeared from the plaza. The Ortega brothers, some of Victoria's best customers, had sat on the man who had harmed her in his effort to hurt the masked bandit that had caught him. Alejandro knew Zorro's guilt would be huge, but he never had the chance to talk to the young man about it.
Then, he had watched his son's marriage disintegrate and he forgot all about Zorro's guilt. Could the two be entwined? A tiny voice, one that had been growing louder since he had watched his son defeat his twin in the garden, issued another cry, insisted that his son was the masked man. Long habit forced the thought from his mind. "The blood scared me."
"Seeing that blade head towards his heart scared me," she admitted.
Alejandro remained unsure what to say. The last few days had opened his eyes to the possibility of love between Diego and Victoria, but Zorro had been Victoria's first love, and first loves always died hard. If they truly died. "I thought Diego was angry because you were injured protecting the man you used to love."
She studied him and then nodded. "I never thought about how quiet we all were when I returned. I had more wounds than just this-" she lifted her shoulder "-to deal with, and I never thought about Diego's wounds from that day. Or yours."
Alejandro had held her down while Hernandez sowed her flesh together. When Hernandez had finished and smiled, Alejandro had finally breathed again. "Victoria, I was glad that you weren't seriously injured. A day in bed to keep your shoulder still and a few stitches could have been much worse."
"Doña Abegail helped me dress the next day."
He had thought Diego had helped her, never imagining that Diego's feelings for Victoria ran so deeply. Fear could keep any man away from the woman he loved when she was in pain. "She has always made herself available to be where she can gossip."
Victoria glanced out the window. She inhaled deeply and then turned to look at him again. "She said she could tell you and Diego were ashamed of my actions."
Alejandro jaw throbbed. "What?"
She smiled and laughed. "I actually believed her."
He sank down onto a knee before her. "You believed I was ashamed of you."
Another deep breath. "I could tell you were not pleased on our wedding day. I knew you loved me, as a friend, as the daughter of a friend. But that's not the same as being the woman from a lower class that married your son."
Had he never spoken to her as he had Diego? Had he never shared his doubts about their marriage? Class had played no role in his concerns. He wondered if Victoria could have settled some of those doubts if he had bothered to share them before the wedding. "I was afraid for you. And Diego. He was too mild to keep you interested. And your passions would scare him. Or so I thought."
Her laughter was freer than it had been in some time. Maybe she was right. Maybe the de la Vegas needed to learn to ask questions and to listen to the answers. "I will probably surprise you with my answer."
"Oh," he said, noticing a soft glow about her.
She leaned forward—or tried to lean forward. His grandson got in the way. "Besides being the most exciting man I've ever known. He's also the most passionate."
He's Zorro, the little voice insisted. "Diego? Passionate?"
"It took me years to notice. Have you never seen how he is? How he gives his whole heart? His poetry. His science. This pueblo. You. Felipe. Me. If he loves, he loves without reservation." She looked out the window again and shook her head. "I forgot that somehow."
At least she had noticed. Had he always been blind? Or had it only begun after Diego returned from University? And the blindness—had it been accidental or intentional? The small voice demanded to know if having his suspicion confirmed would be so devastating.
"Victoria? How passionate is my son?" He blushed at the look she gave him. "I mean about this pueblo." The understanding in her eyes confirmed that long-denied belief. If he could only accept it.
"You need to ask him," was the only reply she would give him.
Z Z Z