The Vampire and the Goth Ch. 19

Alex and I walked into the library and saw Elizabeth sitting on a large, overstuffed couch in front of a smoldering fire. She looked comfortable, with a book and a cup of hot chocolate at hand. Her sister, Laura was asleep in a recliner nearby, but Elizabeth had been waiting for me, and she was wide awake. She smiled at me when we walked into the room, and I slid onto the couch next to her and kissed her, while Alex sat on the hearth in front of the fire. After we kissed, she smiled at Alex.

"Did you guys have a good run?" she asked.

"Yes, it was a good run. But... there was a surprise waiting for us when we got back," I said.

Alex picked up the story. "Father Clem, the priest you met the other night, was waiting on the steps when we finished our run. Brother Humble used one of his ministers, a man who goes by DJ, to reach out to him. They've asked Father Clem to encourage a war between the vampires and the wolves."

"Oh," Elizabeth frowned.

"Yeah. The bastard who showed up at the rectory is the one we think helped Janek get away the other night. He asked the priest to talk to Patrick and tell him I killed Jordan to help get the pack angry at vampires," I said. Elizabeth's expression became indignant, and she stood up.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" she asked, and at that moment, I felt overwhelmed by a fierce love for her. I pulled her to me and kissed her deeply.

"Alex and I are going over to the rectory tonight. We want to be in place before the sun comes up so that we're ready for this guy. Patrick is going there to meet with him, but he's really our backup. Once we have this DJ guy secured, Alex is going to glamour him to get information about Jadwiga and Janek."

Elizabeth grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes. "Will you be in any danger?"

I laughed. "Doubtful. Patrick will have some wolves waiting in the woods near the rectory in case anything goes wrong, but Alex, Patrick, and I will be able to handle anything DJ does."

Elizabeth kissed me long and deep. "Don't take any risks you don't have to."

"I won't," I said, smiling at her. Then, I kissed her again. "I'll always come back to you."

"You'd better," she said with a smile.

We arrived at the rectory at first light and ran into David, who was making a final check of the grounds. "Well, what do we have here?" David said, his voice grinning as he closed the cellar door behind him at the rectory. He quickly walked over to us and hugged both Alex and me.

Alex laughed. "You're a hugger now?"

David laughed with him. "Blame it on Angus!"

"How's your latest progeny doing?" I asked.

"He's doing okay, especially now that we have his brother, Mateo here. Alex, thank you for sending him up," David said.

"I'm glad it's working out, but it really wasn't up to me -- once I told him what happened, I couldn't keep him away."

"That's understandable," David said. "He seems about as stubborn as Carlos." Then his face turned serious. "By the way, we haven't told Carlos about Jadwiga yet. I need to, and I will, but..."

Alex nodded. "That's too much for someone who's newly sired to deal with. Don't worry, I'm not going to mention it to him either. It's okay if I talk to him and his brother about other things, right?"

"Sure! But the sun is almost up, so Carlos is probably asleep already and Mateo will likely be there soon."

Alex smiled. "Okay. I'll let Stosh fill you in on what's going to happen tomorrow."

Father Clem invited Alex and me into the rectory, then said, "Speaking of sleep, I'm going to get a couple of hours. I take it you'll wake me up if there's a problem?"

"Absolutely," I said.

David and I moved into the living room and sat down.

"How's Angus?"

I smiled. "He's okay. He's had a rough go of it with the girl's death, and he misses you. But he's healthy, so that's good."

"Good. I miss him, too."

I was quiet for a minute, not really sure how to cover what I needed to say next.

"I didn't thank you for saving Carlos. I was kind of a dick to you when you told me you'd sired him..."

"Yeah, you were," David said flatly. "But I was kind of a dick when I told you about it. I realized that I would have to go without seeing Angus for a good while during Carlos' transition, and I hate that." Then he smiled. "But once we kill Janek and get Jadwiga back, it will all be worth it."

"If we get her back, you mean," I said, hating the sound and the feeling of the words as they left my throat.

David looked at me with deeply sympathetic eyes. "Don't think like that. We're going to get her back."

I took a deep breath and looked at David. "I don't know."

David gave me a wry smile. "Maybe you don't know, but I do. We're going to get your sister back, Stosh. And then, when she's back and babysitting Carlos, I'm going to lock Angus up in your guest room and we're going to wear that bed out!"

David and I laughed together.

"Can't you guys fuck somewhere else? I mean, Jesus, that poor bed!"

"I'll bring our own linens," he said, with a wink.

David and I sat together in companionable silence.

"Anything else happen with Caleb?"

"Yeah," I said. "Angus sent him back to his pack in Scotland for a while. He clearly needs a change of scenery, and he actually has distant cousins over there. Hopefully, the change will do him some good."

David nodded thoughtfully. "Winter's a rotten time to be in Scotland, though."

"Oh, I don't know. Angus says they have a couple of 'bonnie lasses' in need of some new males to scope out. So, this might work out better for everybody."

David nodded thoughtfully again, then he said, "So... how's tomorrow, or rather, today, going to work?"

"Patrick is going to come out this afternoon with Dmitri," I said.

"Dmitri? Why Dmitri? I mean, I know he's your friend, but he's kind of..." David's voice trailed off.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'squirrelly'," I laughed.

David smiled. "Yeah, 'squirrelly' is a good word for him. But the word I was thinking of is 'small'. Is he really going to be believable as a beta wolf?"

I smiled. "You were hoping that Patrick would bring Angus."

David chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I was, yeah."

"Don't think for a moment that we haven't all had that thought, too. But Angus... kind of stands out. He's a big guy, and he has bright red hair and a thick accent. If Janek told DJ about anyone, it was the black vampire and the Scottish werewolf."

David shrugged and said, "True."

"Plus, Angus would be more worried about you than anyone else. Dima is obnoxious, but he's also nondescript. And the size difference might make DJ underestimate him. Also, I think Patrick wants to give him more challenging tasks, to see if he holds up."

"I guess that makes sense. And how bad could he screw it up anyway? Two werewolves and five vampires -- what could go wrong?"

"Actually, it's going to be more like eight werewolves. Patrick will have more wolves waiting in the woods, in case they're needed."

"Okay. Eight werewolves and five vampires. Finally, the odds will be in our favor!"

I shuddered to hear him tempt fate like that.

"Don't even think it, David. With our luck, anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

David laughed. "You've got a point. But look at it this way -- as fucked up as things have been for us, they can only get better."

I laughed. "I've never known you to be an optimist before. Is that more of Angus' influence?"

David laughed. "I guess it is. He does know how to make me happy."

My heart swelled to see David grin like that, and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"He's a good one, David."

David said, "Aye," mimicking Angus' voice and accent perfectly. We both laughed.

"So, let's assume everything goes right. What's supposed to happen?"

"Well, once DJ shows up, we'll come out and restrain him. Alex will glamour him and we'll get all the info we need," I said.

David nodded for a moment, then he said, "When that DJ character comes, I'd like to be up here. Three heads are better than two, right?"

"You don't think we can handle a human?" I asked, with a sarcastic smile.

David chuckled. "No, I know you can handle a human. But I've been down in that root cellar for too long and I'd like to stretch my legs out."

The rectory was a non-descript, three-bedroom house. It looked like any other ranch home, except that it was on church property, immediately behind the church itself. Father Clem slept in the master bedroom and used one of the other bedrooms for an office and the other as a guest room. Alex, David, and I were in his office, staying well away from the window. Carlos and Mateo were sleeping down in the cellar.

Newly sired vampires, like babies, need a lot of sleep. Since Carlos had only been a vampire for a few days, he was pretty much paralyzed during daylight hours. Mateo had only been a vampire for a short time, about ten years, so he also needed a lot of rest, but he was capable of waking in case of emergency. We agreed that Mateo would stay with Carlos.

We also agreed that no one would tell Carlos that I was there. I knew that the first, and only, thing Carlos would want to know about was Jadwiga and I didn't trust myself to answer him calmly.

Patrick and Dmitri arrived in the middle of the afternoon and Father Clem showed them to his office to greet us. Patrick and Dmitri shook hands with Alex and me, but Patrick broke into a big smile when he saw David and moved everyone else out of the way to hug him. David looked taken aback, as though he wasn't entirely sure how to respond, but ultimately, he returned Patrick's hug.

"David, it's good to see you. How are you? How's the new vampire?" Patrick asked.

David smiled faintly. "He's doing well, all things considered. Clem has been a gracious host, and things have been quiet and peaceful." Then, he said, "Carlos' brother, Mateo has been a big help."

Patrick nodded. "Alex told us he sent him, and I knew he would be helpful. Vampire siblings are rare..." his voice trailed off and I could tell he was trying not to look at me. I gave him a half-smile.

"It's okay to say it. And yes, it is rare," I said, thinking of my sister.

Everyone fell into a strained silence, and Dmitri gave a big sigh and raised his eyebrows. "That was awkward."

We all laughed uncomfortably. "Leave it to Dmitri to yank the tail on the elephant in the room," David said sarcastically.

"Angus says 'hi', by the way," Dmitri smiled. "Well, not just 'hi'. He asked me to give you a big kiss. But that's where I draw the line."

We all laughed again, then Father Clem asked, "Are the other wolves in place?"

"Yes, they are. If they see or hear of any problems, they'll bark to alert us, and if they need reinforcements, they'll howl," Patrick said.

David grinned. "Is Angus out there?"

Patrick frowned. "No. Having Angus out there would be a recipe for disaster. He isn't able to focus on anything but you right now. Well, you and a big bottle of Scotch he and the girls are working on."

David's face fell. "Oh."

I patted him on the back. "You'll see him soon."

"Not soon enough," David snapped.

Dmitri said, "You don't want to see him too soon. That group has enough Scotch to make a dire wolf pass out. It will take them a while to sober up."

I frowned. "Hey, you know Elizabeth and her sister are still human..."

Patrick laughed. "Don't worry, Marcia's baby-sitting them. She knows humans can't keep up with wolves and she won't let them overdo it too much."

Father Clem glanced out the window. "I think our guest just pulled up."

"Okay," Patrick said. He sighed and looked at Dmitri. "Do you remember what you're supposed to do?"

Dmitri nodded. "Yes. I'm going to be silent unless I'm directly spoken to."

Patrick slapped him on the back. "Atta boy," and they walked into the living room.

We heard the front door open, and we heard the sound of two sets of human feet walk in. Father Clem said, "Hello, Mr. Browning. It's nice to see you again. This is Alpha Patrick Collier, of the Collier pack, and Dmitri Volkov, his Beta."

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," we heard a man say. "I'm DJ Browning, and I work with Brother Humble and Pure Truth Ministries. This is our intern, Helen Hwang."

It was quiet for a moment as everyone shook hands, then we heard a woman say in a soft southern accent, "You're the first werewolf I've ever met."

Dmitri responded with, "Well, you are the most beautiful human I've ever met," and then we heard the sound of what must have been Dmitri kissing Helen's hand.

"Are you really a werewolf? You look too cute to be a werewolf," Helen giggled.

"I'm really a werewolf. Want to see?"

"No, we don't want to see that. It's disgusting!" DJ said, in an angry voice. "Besides, we have serious business to discuss today."

Helen ignored him and said, "I would like to see that. If you don't mind."

"Okay. Let me take my shoes off."

Alex and David both looked at me with confused expressions as David mouthed the words, What the fuck? While Alex looked at me and said, softly, "She's his mate, isn't she?"

I sighed and said, "Apparently," as we heard a feminine giggle.

"Wow! That was really cool! I'm sorry about your clothes, though."

Patrick said, "He has other clothes he can change into. We carry an extra set for times when we have to shift unexpectedly."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense."

Then we heard a lamp shatter and DJ yelled, "Shoo! Get away from her!"

"It's okay, he just wants to smell me. You're a beautiful boy, aren't you?" Helen giggled.

"Fuck, he shifted," David said under his breath with a scowl.

"Well, we wanted Dmitri to be a distraction. This will work for us," Alex responded.

From the living room, DJ said, "He's not a dog, he's a man. Men don't stick their noses in women's crotches."

David whispered, "That's not what I hear."

I put my hands over my mouth and looked away, trying not to laugh. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alex bend over trying to suppress his own laughter, and he was having a difficult time. Suddenly we heard Dmitri growl, and Patrick said, "Don't pull on his tail like that. It's painful and embarrassing."

"I've got to get him away before he hurts her," DJ said

"He won't hurt her," Patrick replied.

"You don't know that. How can you know that?"

I could hear Helen laugh. "He's not going to hurt me. He's a good boy. I can tell."

"I'll bet the lipstick is already out of the tube," David said under his breath. I could see silent tears of laughter streaming down Alex's face, and that was it for me. I had to get away from him or I was going to lose it, too.

I opened the door and stepped lightly into the hall to see what was happening. Dmitri, in his wolf form, was sitting politely in front of a woman, whom I guessed was Helen. She appeared to be college-aged, with chocolate brown eyes that were almond-shaped. She had golden skin and long, black hair. Both of her hands were on either side of Dmitri's face and he was leaning his head so she could scratch his ears. "Your fur is so soft," she said, with a smile.

I caught Patrick's eye and with the slightest nod, he acknowledged me. Then he said, "It's okay, he just wants to get to know her."

"He doesn't need to get to know her. She's human and he's a werewolf."

Helen was clearly captivated by Dmitri, who seemed captivated right back. She hugged him and I heard Dmitri's tail beat against the floor. I felt David and Alex walk behind me and Patrick nodded again as Alex entered the room. Helen didn't see anything but Dmitri's wolf, standing right in front of her. Dmitri gave her face a big, wet lick.

"He likes you," Patrick said, moving to sit down next to Helen on the couch. He scratched Dmitri's ears.

"I like him, too," Helen laughed. "Which is weird, because I'm usually more of a cat person. Are all werewolves this friendly?"

"No, this is special," Patrick said with a smile.

DJ stood with his back to us. He seemed fixated on the interaction between Helen and Dmitri and didn't notice as Alex walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello," Alex said. DJ looked at him and said, "Damn it," immediately recognizing Alex as a vampire.

Alex looked deep into DJ's eyes. "You want to follow me, don't you, DJ?"

DJ said loudly, "No, I don't, you fucking bloodsucker!"

That got Helen's attention.

"Bloodsucker? What do you mean?" she asked

Father Clem sighed deeply. "He means they're vampires."

A look of fear crossed Helen's face, and Dmitri cuddled up closer to her.

"We're not here to hurt anyone. Well, this guy maybe," I said, walking into the room and turning to DJ. "Where's my sister?"

DJ wasn't a tall man, barely six foot. But he was built like a spark plug. He looked like a former line-backer gone to seed, with a distinct lack of neck. He had brown hair with a lot of grey, and he wore it in a crew cut. He had the eyes of a pig, very small and heavily lidded. Everything about him screamed "ignorant asshole and proud of it".

"I don't know what you're talking about," DJ said, with his eyes squinting fiercely.

"My sister, asshole. She was the woman who was forced into your car the other night by a vampire. You drove them off while she was screaming for help," I spat out.

A look of recognition crossed DJ's face, and he laughed.

"Oh! That was you behind my car? I thought you looked familiar!"

Helen's eyes opened wide. "DJ? Did you hurt a woman?" she said in shock.

DJ chuckled. "No, no, nothing like that," he said. "She wasn't a woman, she was just a vampire."

Dmitri, Patrick, and I growled at the same time, and Helen crossed her arms and glared at DJ.

DJ tried to explain himself. "Look, there's this vampire named Yanet, and he has a sister, okay? He saved her from this prick and his dog pals, only she doesn't know it yet. They've got her hypnotized or something," DJ said.

Patrick stood up suddenly. "Watch who you're calling a 'dog', asshole!"

DJ scoffed at him. "No offense intended, but really, you guys are just one step up from vampires."

Patrick scoffed, and Father Clem looked indignant. "Whatever happened to 'Werewolves are good people'? Or was that just for last night?"

DJ ran his hand over his face. He knew that he had started a shit storm, and there was no easy way out of it.

"Forget this. Helen, let's get out of here."

DJ reached out a hand to Helen, which she ignored, and in an angry voice, she asked, "Is this man telling the truth? Was his sister really screaming for help?" Her southern accent had become surprisingly strong.

"Probably. I wasn't paying attention."

"You paid enough attention to drive away with her in your car," I said angrily.

DJ laughed. "Who gives a shit, you stupid Polack?"

Helen stood up and Dmitri, still in wolf form, stood next to her, baring his teeth at DJ.

"You heard someone screaming for help and not only did you not help her, but you actually helped the person who was hurting her?"

DJ put his hand to his brow. "Come on, Helen. It wasn't like that. They're not people, they're just vampires. Whatever is going on between them has nothing to do with us!"

Helen's face contorted with rage and she punched him. "You asshole! She was screaming for help! And you didn't help her! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

DJ shielded his face. "I told you she's a vampire! They weren't even speaking English! Why do you care?"

I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but Helen actually got angrier. She kicked him in the balls and when he doubled over, she started to kick him in the side and the face. "Why do I care? How can you even ask that?"

Father Clem looked over at Patrick. "Aren't you going to help?"

Patrick looked over at Father Clem with a grin. "It looks like she's doing fine on her own!"