Journeys – Chapter 6
Vicki had felt a little 'off' all day. She'd made up her mind to talk to Henry about those feelings when he got up. She knew he wouldn't be happy, but it was too late to stop. It really had been too late from the first night she met him. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she got back to the report she was entering into the case file.
She glanced at the calendar and saw that it was the first of October. The stores had been selling Halloween candy and costumes since the August and she wondered if Sinead got busier in the fall. She rolled the name around in her head and thought about meeting her and her place of business twice with Henry. Henry had not told her all of the loose ends he was tying up, but she'd bet Sinead was one of them.
As Vicki started thinking about the wild ride through almost a year of knowing Henry, her fingers opened a new page in the word documents and began typing:
The witching hour had passed and the black cat hissed as the moon sank. He stepped from behind the tree and grabbed the acolyte as the coven's chat rose and fell in the darkness. He hadn't made up his mind about feeding or asking for help. She tried not to scream as his cold breath and numbing saliva touched her neck. She turned and her sisters begged her to take the bite saying, "We called for the demon, now take his kiss. He brings the answers to mysteries not yet asked. He will be the one that brings the old ways back. He's the one that talked with the true teachers and can give us the answers we need to make our dreams happen. Power is out there. We must fight for that power. We will not be stopped. This time we will not let the secrets slip away from us."
The coven started chanting louder as the vampire stood frozen in time, not able to bite or let the girl go. In his mind the coven continued speaking. "The power must be allowed to flow through the fingers typing our words. The power has taken over the fingers and the mind. Make it talk and ramble. The coven has a vampire in their spell and it must be forced to yield to our will. It can be made to do what they want. You hriplppin ligy rhy frmon vcutdy – yhr vutyd mudy br btokrn got yhs hrtny vsn br eith Vivky in yhr guyutr yhr vutrd mudy br bgokrtn.. yhthr vsmpitr hsd yo pstyd humsn snf mondyrt – ig yhry vsn nlrsf snf mskr prsdvr eiyh rsvh oyhr yhrt id svhsnvr yhsy yhr vsl lobr in prsvr. Yhry mudy eotk yohhrykt go mskr nrsvr eotk."
Vicki picked her hands up from the keyboard and looked at what she had been doing. Her fingers had moved on their own, typing a message that made no sense. And now the fingers returned to the keyboard to pick up where they left off:
The coven screeched as the connection faltered, " The mind is slipping from our control and soon that path will be lost. Demon vampire, you have touched one of ours, now you will pay the price. Vampire you will find love, you will kill love, you will watch it die, the love you offer will be repulsed. You will break hearts and turn your back on suffering. Your lovers will turn and run in fear when they know who you are. They will bring you pain and suffering and turn on you to save themselves. Your only hope is to find a love that is pure, honest, with no purpose of its own other than to comfort and love you. No demands can be made of this love. It is loves purpose to see you and accept you just as you are. That love will offer up her blood so that she might join you in your world. She does this for the love of you.. She offers herself to you. Vampire, when the pieces are in place, and the first move has been made, there will be no choice but to continue to the end. You will be tested to see if your love for Vicki is real. The test will be given in three days. You start apart and work to find each other."
Vicki pushed herself away from the desk and wished evening would come so that she could talk to Henry. She kept looking at the keyboard and felt the need to sit back down and start typing again. She hit print and when it was finished, she reaching over and pulled the power supply for the computer and printer from the outlet. She sighed in relief as the urge to type finally faded and spent an hour pacing after she "killed" the computer, trying to work out in her mind what had happened.
Henry came out of the bed room just as she was about to plug the damn thing back in, and asked, "Are you having a problem with the computer?"
Vicki stepped into his open arms and said, "I'm so glad to see you. I've been weirded out big time."
"By what? You shouldn't be feeling the effects of vampire yet."
"No. I'm not feeling the things you warned me about. It's my mind. Here, look." She handed him the print out and watched his face as he read it.
He read it through twice and said, "This story has potential but you need to work on plot and character development."
"Crap! Henry, I'm not trying to write a story. This was automatic writing or something. My mind wasn't there while I typed this. I was seeing and hearing through someone else. I'm sure you're the vampire, but I don't know who or what the coven was all about."
Henry sat down as he continued to look at the pages. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes.
Vicki sat on the arm of the same chair and rested her cheek on the top of his head waiting for him to say something.
"This may be Sinead's work. We're going to have to see her, but first we need to talk to Renelle."
The club was on a quiet corner near the center of town. The surrounding buildings housed up scale offices of important people doing important work. It was not the usual setting for a gentleman's club.
Henry escorted Vicki to the door and held it open walking down a wide hallway with marble flooring and walls. Vicki saw herself and Henry reflected in the shiny brass doors of the elevators. She was dressed in her best black dress and heels, and Henry looked handsome in his dark slacks, deep red shirt and coat. There was a directory across from the elevators and Henry spied the name he was looking for. "I should have known she would have the top floor. Let's go. She'll wait until we get there before starting her next show."
The door opened into an art deco night club. It looked like the stage set for a 1940's movie. The lights were dim and the music was soft and there were men sitting at little round tables all facing the low stage. Henry and Vicki were directed to a side table near the back.
The lights grew dimmer, then a smoky voice was heard off stage, "The piano player sat and poked one handed on the ivories tapping out the melody of a moody love song. His girl had left him and the ice in his drink had melted. The last customer had left and the room was filled with stale smoke."
The single light revealed the white piano and the musician, smoke swirled around the stage and in the mist, a shadow of a tall woman took shape. She was dressed in gold and glided to lean against the piano and stroked the musician's hair. The voice started speaking again, "She had loved him once."
The music changed and the mist swirled, she reached up and pulled a comb from behind her ear and the red hair tumbled down and stopped just short of her waist. The tempo of the music increased and she walked across the stage. "She left him for another and his music died."
The golden dress turned green and more of her body was revealed. The words and music told the story as Renelle stripped and teased. The audience held their breath as she played with their emotions and left them panting.
When the last of the dress fell, the mist grew thick and the lighted stage turned dark. The audience sighed as the room's lights came up.
Vicki looked at Henry, "That's Renelle?"
Henry nodded and said, "She puts on quite a show."
The waiter came over and whispered in Henry's ear. Henry stood and made to pull back Vicki's chair saying "We've been invited back stage."
Vicki stood as Henry moved her chair and said, "What happens next?"
"I have no idea."
Renelle's dressing room was at the end of a short hallway already lined with flowers and tokens of affection. She stood in the door way and straightened her shoulders as she saw Vicki followed by Henry.
"Do walk slowly. It takes some adjusting to have so many of our kind in a tight place."
She looked into Vicki's eyes and said, "Welcome into our world."
Vicki glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Henry and he said, "You're progressing faster than I thought, if she can sense you. Let me do the talking."
"You want me to behave like a child? Seen and not heard."
"Pretty much." He put a possessive hand around Vicki's waist pulling her back against him, and said to Renelle, "This is Vicki. She's mine."
"Don't get pissy. We have a blood truce, you and I. It includes what's yours." Renelle stepped back and allowed them to enter. She pointed to a love seat, "Sit and tell me why you wanted to see me again so soon." She sat in the chair in front of a triple mirror lit with soft flickering candles.
Henry tilted his chin and Vicki took the hint and sat first. He sat beside her saying, "First I must tell you how much I enjoyed the show. You had the audience captivated. I'm not sure they breathed the entire time you were on stage."
She acknowledged the praise and indicated that Henry should continue.
"Vicki and I were involved in quite a few unusual cases a few years ago. Some people were drawn into the happenings and now I have to finish what was started. I'm saying good bye to a few friends and planning to drive a demon or two back to hell. You're going to feel the ripples of disturbed magic, but I'm asking you not to interfere."
"I'm not going to ask questions. Do what you have to do. Keep me informed and give me warning if I have to move fast." She shifted in her chair and added, "I'll help you if needed and I have possession of all your old sanctuaries. Do you want one of them? It seems to me the two of you need a safer place than her apartment."
Vicki's head jerked at the reference to her apartment. As far as she knew, Renelle didn't know she even existed until a few minutes ago.
"Don't look so surprised. Hasn't Henry told you that a vampire is very much aware of what goes on in their territory? Mostly vampires choose to ignore what doesn't interfere with their personal comfort. If you want, I can tell you about the second time you tasted Henry's blood." She looked at Henry and said, "Really! Leaning her up against a wall, taking her body and having her drink your blood. You could have done it with so much more finesse."
Henry gave Vicki one of his boyish grins then said to Renelle, "I went with the moment. Seemed like a good idea at the time. You want more romance Vicki?"
Vicki thought about the night she drank his blood. They'd been fighting again and a little quick sex was a way they could both get out of an argument they didn't want. She had asked that the process to turn her vampire start then or not at all.
Vicki shrugged and said, "It worked for me. I'm not that much of a romantic."
Renelle threw back her head and laughed with a deep smoky voice. "You'll do fine as a vampire. I can see you two together for centuries to come."
Henry said he would like to use the sanctuary near the hunting grounds previously granted and Renelle reached into a drawer and pulled out the keys and tossed them to him.
Henry stood holding out his hand to Vicki. Renelle said as he opened the door to leave, "Keep me posted. I'll stay out of your way unless you ask for help."
Vicki took Henry's offered arm as the left and said, "I like her."
"I thought you would. I need to feed. and just before dawn I'll feed you."
"Do you want to take me home first?"
"No. I won't be long. You can watch if you want."
She moved her head from side to side and said, "Not yet."
They walked back to the car and Henry drove to the part of town Renelle said he could hunt. "I'll be back within fifteen minutes. Keep the doors locked."
He was back in less than five minutes got behind the wheel and said after looking at the puzzled face, "A drunk sleeping it off in the alley."
"Won't you get drunk?"
"A little buzz now and then when the prey is really drunk or stoned, but vampire protects us from the worst of it."
"Yeah! Second hand smoke and alcohol, bring it on."