All four of us exhaled contently. One happy, vampiric family.
Time heals all wounds they say, and a couple of weeks later our family seemed a shining example of that. I'd adjusted to dying. Teren had adjusted to grieving. And the twins had adjusted to the realization that they were never going to get that pony. Our lives quietly fell back to the routine we'd become accustomed to - trying to balance work and kids and time for each other. It was a tricky multi-level scale, but we did the best we could. We even managed to spend some time with our friends.
Dropping the kids off at my mom's, we met up with Hot Ben and Tracey for a movie. Flicking a glance at my husband in the car, once we were stopped in the brightly lit parking lot, I asked, "Are you sure you're up for this?"
He smiled back at me as he shut the electric engine off. "To watch them butcher a perfectly good, classic horror film?" Shrugging playfully, he sighed. "Not really, but I'll live."
Rolling my eyes, I thumped him over the chest. "No...smartass. Being out socializing after...what happened."
He sighed again, seriously this time. "I can't stop living my life because of bad things that happen." Looking down, he chuckled once. "If that were the case, I'd never get to have a life."
He peeked up at me and I cupped his cheek. Resting my head against his, I sighed too. Yeah, if there was one thing our relationship seemed to have in abundance, besides a great deal of love, it was bad things happening.
Giving my nose a light kiss, he cracked his door. "Come on, they're here."
He indicated behind me and I turned to see Ben's SUV in the lot. A sudden vision of Teren and I within the front seat of that SUV suddenly struck me. If I still could have, my cheeks would have flushed.
Walking around to my side, Teren helped me out of the car. I smelled the air instinctually when I got out. There was something in it besides the overwhelming stench of popcorn. Looking around, I sniffed. Teren watched me, then looked around too. The odor was familiar, but foreign.
Teren grabbed my arm, squeezing me gently. "Over there." I turned my head and looked over to the edge of the movie theater that he was pointing to. Standing at the corner, leaning against it, was a man clearly watching us. Ice flooded my veins as Teren moved me slightly behind him. Meeting up with strange people usually didn't end well for us. His scent was light on the breeze, but it had the distinct zing of vampire to it. Full or mixed, I didn't know.
A low warning growl burrowing up from Teren's chest cut through the empty space around us. I knew I was more resilient now than the last time I'd met up with a strange vamp, but that didn't mean I wanted to test out my healing abilities tonight.
The vampire across the way smiled wryly at the display, slightly shaking his head. Shrugging, he lifted his hands up as if to show he didn't mean us any harm. Teren stopped growling, but made no move to head towards the man.
He smiled wider at our reluctance. He seemed mid-twenties to me, not that that was any real indication of his lineage. His hair under the lot lights was sort of an orange shade, but I was pretty sure it would be a dirty brown in daylight, assuming it ever saw daylight. Skinny for a guy, he had a homely look about him, like he hadn't lived in one spot long enough to repair the rip in his jacket or replace the denims that were badly frayed at the knees. While not unattractive, there was a layer of dirt that permeated him and his clothes. Human eyes probably wouldn't notice, but mine could easily pick it up. All and all, he looked...worn.
Holding up a finger, he reached inside his jacket pocket. Actually thinking he was going to pull out a gun and shoot us, I pulled Teren back a step. The man sniggered at my reaction, pulling out what looked like an envelope.
Bunching my brows, I watched him set it on a nearby garbage can lid. Then he made a gesture like he was tipping his hat. It was old-fashioned and a little odd, since he wasn't even wearing a hat. After that display, he blurred away.
Teren and I were at a standstill, staring at that piece of paper like it was going to explode at any moment. Finally, Teren exhaled in a rush. "It's just paper," he muttered. Looking back at me, his blue eyes stern, he pointed to the ground. "Stay here...please?"
I twisted my lips, but nodded. I didn't smell the vamp in the air anyway and really, if he'd wanted to harm us, he wouldn't have made such a show of staying away. Obviously, harm wasn't his intention. Obviously, he wanted us to retrieve that letter.
Holding my breath, I watched Teren thrust his hands deep in his jacket and casually walk over to the corner of the building. The anticipation was killing me. I wanted to yell at him to go supersonic, but I had enough sense to know that I couldn't do that. We were smack dab in the middle of a parking lot and while not crowded, a few people were coming and going. Teren even nodded at a couple as he passed by them.
A few long moments later he made it to the trash bin. Looking around, he sniffed the air a few times before he picked it up. Staring at it for a second, he started making his way back to me. Not able to stand it anymore, I met him halfway. He frowned when we connected. "I told you to stay put."
I frowned back. "You can ground me later. What does it say?"
He shrugged, holding up a plain, ordinary envelope. "I don't know."
Looking around again, he slowly opened it. Pulling out a tri-folded slip of paper, he frowned. I frowned too. The scent wafting from the parchment was unmistakable to a vampire. Whatever was written on that paper was written in blood...human blood.
I bit my lip as he unfolded it. Reading what was there, he exhaled slowly and deliberately. Pulling it over so I could see it clearly, I gasped and peeked up at him. "Teren?"
Twisting his lips, he looked back at where the creature had fled. "Yeah, I know."
I stared after him too, completely thrown. That lean, homeless looking vampire was the one person on this earth that Gabriel wanted to get his hands on, but couldn't seem to. The man that had been calmly standing against a movie theater, staring at us, was on just about every vampire's most wanted list. He was the one that had been indirectly responsible for my husband's death. He was the one that was, in a way, responsible for my own death. And he'd been right in front of us.
Glancing at the paper elegantly scrawled with some poor human's blood, I read it over and over again. It was a message to Gabriel. A message that was all too clear; it chilled my already chilled bones.
My dearest Gabriel,
I understand that you wish to see me. I have no wish to be seen. I've given you several warnings to stop hunting for me. This one will be my last. I believe I've already proven that you are not untouchable. I can harm you, and I will, if you leave me no other choice. Back off, or this will end in bloodshed.
Sincerely yours,
Malcolm
Teren ran a hand down his face as I shook my head, reading it again. Bloodshed? That sounded a bit...drastic. Of course, I was fairly certain that Gabriel wasn't going to let him off with a stern warning to never do it again. This Malcolm person had been responsible for several mixed vampire's deaths. Children as well as adults. He may not have wielded the stakes, but he was responsible nonetheless. And he seemed well aware of the consequences that he was facing.
"He knows who we are, Teren. He knows that we know Gabriel." My hand clutched his arm as I dropped my hold on the letter.
Shaking his head, he sighed. "I know." Looking over at me, he frowned but said nothing else.
Just as I was about to tell him that we should call...someone, Tracey bounded out of the theater. Teren looked up at her and shoved the bloody note in his pocket as she waved at us. "Hey, you are here! Come on in, the movie's starting soon."
We looked at each other and he shrugged. "He won't do anything until we deliver his message." He nodded his head to the doors. "Let's go watch a movie with our friends, make Tracey believe that nothing is wrong, then we'll call Great-Gran."
I nodded as he smiled nonchalantly and waved back at Tracey. As we quickly walked to the building, I mentally tracked every member of my family. The pins were all exactly in the same space in my head; nobody had moved. Our kids were at my mom's. Alanna and the other girls were at the ranch. Feeling better that all the vampires in my life were stationary and still spouting life affirming GPS to me, I tried to match his effortless smile as we stepped up to Tracey.
Smiling widely, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the ticket line. I halfheartedly followed her, not really wanting to watch a movie right now. Twisting to look at me as we approached the counter, she exclaimed, "Dang, you're cold." Smirking, her pale eyes glanced down my body. "Maybe you should put some of that baby weight back on you?"
Faking a scowl of displeasure, I subtly pulled my hand from hers. So used to being a warm blooded person, I sometimes forgot that I wasn't now. Especially since my husband didn't give me chills anymore. My little twin heat boxes were my only real reminder of my temperature.
As Teren and I got our tickets, Hot Ben walked into the lobby. Box of popcorn in one hand, his other ran through his bleach-blonde highlighted hair. "Hey, glad you made it." He stopped talking as he looked between the two of us, his brow furrowing to a point. Muttering below his breath, in a whisper that his fiance wouldn't hear, especially as she noisily munched from the popcorn in his bucket, he asked, "Something up? You two looked spooked."
I adjusted my causal smile as we grabbed our tickets and headed to theater five. Teren causally slung an arm around my waist while discretely handing Ben the note as we walked past him. As Tracey walked beside me, telling me that she hoped she didn't scream too loudly, I heard Ben behind us un-crumpling the paper.
Quite clearly to me, but inaudible to anyone else but Teren, I heard him mutter, "Oh...man. This the vamp that stole that stuff that killed you?" Sniffing, Teren looked over his shoulder at Hot Ben and nodded. Ben sniffed in a disgruntled way that matched Teren. "We hunting?"
Forgetting that the three of us were having a silent conversation that Tracey wasn't aware of, I stopped in my tracks and looked back at Ben behind me. "No! Absolutely not." My already strained nerves added volume to my voice and Tracey clearly heard me. The person at the end of the hall probably heard me.
Tracey looked between Ben and me, completely confused about why I'd seemingly told him no for no apparent reason. The last thing she was aware of, was asking me if I'd share the popcorn with her; my reaction was a little strong for her question, but I hadn't considered Teren and Ben jumping into the middle of this.
Teren's hand around my waist moved to my arm. Glancing at Tracey, he muttered under his breath. "He killed me, Em."
Not caring how it looked to a clueless Tracey, both my hands clasped his arms. Managing to keep my voice nearly incoherent, I whispered, "No, Teren, no. Let Gabriel deal with this. It's his mess, remember?" Teren narrowed his eyes but looked down. I squatted to meet his eye. "Please? You have a family now."
Hot Ben, seeing a conversation he couldn't hear and guessing what I was saying, stepped forward and laid his hand on Teren's arm. "If he gave this to you, then he knows who you are, Teren. He could be a threat." Ben held up the offending note, like just that evidence was proof of ill intent towards us. "We should make sure that he's not."