Death seemed to be warm and satiny. And dark. Very dark. Then I realized that I could open my eyes, or at least, try to open them. Emergency Services Jaws of Life would have been handy, but despite my lack of heavy duty, hydraulically powered rescue gear, I was finally able to get them partially open.
Death was apparently illuminated by a combination of candles and vintage lava lamps. The bed I found myself in was the better part of a half- acre in size, with white satin sheets and a purple satin comforter (purple?).
“Hey, monster bait, you awake?” came a soft greeting from the door of the bedroom.
Lydia moved into the room and Tatiana appeared immediately behind her. “How are you feeling?” Lydia asked.
“Hmm? Oh, I feel alright...I guess.” I answered my attention still on Tatiana. A much changed Tatiana. I had never seen her like this before. She was wearing a black, tightly fitted jumpsuit of some leather like material. Twin sword hilts poked up over her shoulders and a long bladed knife was strapped to the outside of each forearm. Her feet were encased in soft flexible boots that buckled up the front and rose to her calves. But the biggest change was her face. It was cold and remote, her blue eyes frosty.
“What happened?” I finally asked, still watching this alien Tatiana.
“You got suckered in by a were weasel. They are the primary assassins of the were world and this one was getting ready to punch your ticket. We,” she pointed to Tatiana and herself, “were on our way to see you and suddenly she leaped out of the car and ran off. I followed her and by the time I caught up she was finishing off the were. With my car door, which she took with her when she jumped from my car. It was kinda messy. Weasel paste. We got some of her magical blood into you and you healed right up. Like a vampire would. Freaky. But you feel okay now?” she asked.
I tore my gaze from Tatiana and gave myself a quick once over. I felt great, although I seemed to be naked under the sheets. “Ah, yeah, I guess. Ah, Tanya. What's up? What's the matter?” I asked, puzzled and very worried by her appearance.
“Hello, Christian. I'm glad you are well.” She didn't seem glad.
“And now that you’re awake, I need to say some things to you,” she continued.
“Jeeze, Tanya. What are ya doin'? Not like this! Not this moment!” Lydia objected.
Tatiana's head snapped to look at the little vampire, who she addressed after a moment.
“Yes, Lydia. Now. Before a moment longer.” I didn't know what was happening, but the dread I felt in the pit of my stomach was making me queasy.
“Chris” she began. Not Christian -- this was bad.
“I have decided that my Mother was right. I am grateful to you for saving my life last Friday. And I'm grateful to you for snapping me out of my....catharsis. But I'm awake now. And I think we are even at this point. I find myself growing rapidly, catching up for lost time. I'm afraid my infatuation with you was, well, simply a girlish crush.”
A micro burst of shame flashed across her face as she said this.
“So, if I misled you, then you have my apologies. But I'm afraid that the simple truth is that I've outgrown that stage. I've outgrown you. It would be best for you to leave me alone.” She spun on her heel and slipped from the room like a wraith.
My heart had stopped beating as soon as she had said her mother was right. And I couldn't seem to make my diaphragm work. The weasel had kicked like a mule, but this hit me ten times harder. My vision started to darken from the outside in, spiraling down until I couldn't see. Some primitive response to my body's inability to decide to fight or flee. “Chris...Chris, breathe!”
Lydia's voice was competing with a train sound that filled my ears.
Reflex kicked in and my lungs filled with sudden, almost painful whoosh of air. After what seemed like thirty or forty years, my vision came back to find Lydia hovering in front of me worriedly.
“What the hell was that? What just happened?”
“Chris, listen to me. You can't believe that she meant that. It's...it's complicated.”
I was scrambling out of bed, ignoring my nakedness and moving toward a pile of clothes.
“Complicated? That wasn't fucking complicated!” I yelled. I pulled on a pair of leather pants and a black tee shirt from the pile of folded clothes. “That was exactly what Galina said would happen.”
Stunned disbelief was giving over swiftly to red, red rage. Rage at Tatiana, rage at Galina, rage at Lydia for telling me it had been real, and mostly, rage at myself. The pain was unbelievable, worse than any physical feeling I had ever had. I could feel it in every cell of my body and I needed out. The fight or flight decision had been made and it was flight time. I almost missed it in my hurry to be gone, but a big duffel bag with part of my cop gear sticking out of an open zipper caught my eye just enough for me to grab it.
“Chris, wait, let me explain!”
“ SAVE IT! I'VE GOT ALL THE EXPLANATION I NEED! NOW HOW THE HOLY HELL DO I GET OUTTA HERE?” I was screaming at this point. A human would have flinched, but she just pointed sadly at the doorway and said, “Down the hall to the stairs, down two flights and out the front door.”
Barefoot, I practically flew down the stairs and ended up on the ground floor of Galina's brownstone. The big oak front doors were directly ahead and the front room and foyer were filled with vampires dressed in expensive clothes, mingling with goblets of thick red blood in hand. I could smell the blood and I was instantly the center of their curious attention, but I ignored it and headed for the door. A young vampire dressed in a white shirt and black pants, with a tray of goblets, moved to intercept me, his free hand out, palm facing me in an obvious order to halt. I pooled my rage into my right hand and punched my aura in his direction. He was four feet away from my outstretched hand, but he flew back through the air and smashed into the wall seven feet up. Didn't know I could do that. I ignored him and focused on the front door, which was locked and wouldn't open. With no obvious way to unlock it I looked around and found a vase sitting on a thick marble column.
I grabbed the vase and threw it to the closest vampire, not watching to see if he would snatch it from the air. Instead I grabbed the column, which had to heft a good two hundred pounds, and began to advance on the door, only to find Lydia there ahead of me. She manipulated the lock somehow and opened the door, standing aside. I dropped the column and a moment later made it into the predawn darkness.
Chapter 13
I found myself at home, later, just as the sun was coming up. I was numb, inside and out. Standing outside my apartment, pushing at the locked door and not really sure of how to get in. If I had applied some thought, I would have looked in the dusty duffel that I've dragged around town for my key ring or found my hidden key in the hallway.. But thinking was bad, it only led in painful directions, and so I refused to start. The apartment door behind me opened and I felt someone step out and stop. The scent of peaches and kiwi told me it was Paige, the soft scuffle of her running shoes told me she was headed out for her morning jog.