Microsoft Word - TheStormyLoveLifeofLauraCordelaisSusanCfinal Page 9

  7. In the event the vampire cannot be killed directly, trap it by luring it within a perimeter made of fish bones and crushed lava stone.

  8. Open a rift to another world. The vampire will be sucked in and trapped forever.

  Laura scratched her head. She didn't know what a Qudis was, and she didn't know enough about the Keres. Apparently there was some way a mambo could summon them and control them. Opening a rift, a tear in the fabric of life, was dangerous business and very uncontrollable. Laura hadn't understood any of this when she was a child, especially the part about trapping them forever, but now the knowledge was crystal clear. The fish bones in the sand and the lava stone just beneath the surface imprisoned her.

  A door slammed and Laura's child heart beat wildly. If Brilla found her there reading her books, who knows what the mambo would do. Laura didn't want to find out. Her small eyes darted around the room and fell on a window. She hurried with its latch and finally it released. Laura tumbled out and into the garden below. Then she ran as if her life depended on it, maybe not hers but David's did.

  Laura opened her eyes smiling and stretched out across her bed. Yes! She went over the details in her mind. Without making a single sound, she moved off the bed and went to the door.

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  Come on, thought Laura. Her fingers gently touched the wood frame of the door as her thoughts went beyond it. Where was Brilla now? She didn't sense her beyond the door, or in the living room, or in the kitchen or bath.

  The knob twisted open easily in her hand. Laura avoided the patches of light that washed parts of the living room. When she was small, she remembered Brilla always saying, "Keep those precious things and those you want to protect closest to you." It was a rule of magic that stuck in Laura's brain, so her attention immediately went to Brilla's bedroom. Items important to any mambo would be closest to where she slept.

  Laura listened at the bedroom door. She couldn't feel the mambo in there, so she cautiously opened the door. There were no booby traps. Apparently, Brilla had not foreseen this. Laura rummaged through the mambo's things, not caring if she ransacked the place.

  A book lay open on the nightstand beside the bed. Laura had to look.

  Dexithea, the Right Hand of Zeus

  Dexithea was a Telkhine, and the Telkhines were a remarkably gifted race that occupied the island of Rhodes prior to the Greeks. Telkhines created glorious works of art from metal as well as beautiful jewelry and strong, deadly weapons. These ancient islanders were also storm wrights. They could create a storm or dissolve it. These were among their many talents.

  One night, two tired travelers appeared at Dexithea's home. Her sister Makelo welcomed them in. Halia washed their feet and gave them clean robes to wear.

  Simone brought them wine, and Myla brought them food. Dexithea played her harp and sang. The sisters did not know their guests were actually Zeus and Apollo, and the gods did not reveal themselves during their visit.

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  When the Telkhines angered Zeus with their ability to avert storms, he cursed them to hide forever in the sea as dog-faced demons. But he remembered the gentle hospitality of Dexithea's house and spared her and her sisters this fate.

  It is said that Zeus was so taken by the golden-haired Telkhine, that he gave her a gift that only she and her children would share—the bolt. Hence Dexithea is referred to as the Right Hand of Zeus or the Goddess of the Right Hand. Being able to control lightning is a gift that is specific to the descendents of Dexithea.

  Laura trembled from head to toe. She didn't know. Mama had never told her the story.

  Another book stuck out from Brilla's pillow. Sensing again for Brilla's presence in the house and finding nothing, Laura took the book and opened it. This was the mambo's diary. She rifled through it. On the second to last page, Laura trembled with rage as she read.

  I have given my word to the Telkhine that I will let her go when her training is finished. She is a fool to think I will keep it. I can never let her go. With her, my powers will be complete. I will be the most powerful and feared mambo in New Orleans. As for her vampire mate, the potion will eventually erase him from her mind and heart. Then destroying him will be easy.

  Shaking with silent rage, Laura stumbled back and bumped the closet door. It fell open. Twenty or so jars of powered obsidian and jasper were in a box in the bottom of her closet. Laura took them and emptied the red and black powders into the toilet.

  Some of the black powder fell on her hand.

  She screeched and rushed to wash it off in the sink. There was a definite hole in her right hand. That will take time to heal. She sighed and flushed the toilet.

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  Urgency raced through her body. Wherever Brilla was, she was coming back.

  Laura ran into the kitchen and tore through every kitchen cabinet. She found more jars and washed the powder down the kitchen sink. The last jar of jasper was almost gone when the door slammed.

  "I see you've been a bad girl."

  Laura trembled. This jar was the last one Brilla had. She washed the red powder out with her left hand. It didn't burn but she did feel a little lightheaded. Laura collapsed to the floor, and the empty jar fell and shattered into a million pieces.

  The mambo came to her side and applied a bandage to the wounded hand.

  "No." Laura, her eyes half-closed, gasped.

  "It's all right, La-la." The mambo flung open a cabinet and took down a sealed bottle with yellow flowers floating in it and from the fridge took a carton of pink juice.

  She poured them into a glass and knelt to hold up Laura's head.

  "Come on, Laura. Drink."

  "No." Laura pushed the glass away.

  "It's the antidote. Grapefruit juice and dandelion wine. You've breathed in jasper dust."

  "No." She gasped weakly, her hands moving to swat an imaginary fly. "You will not kill my David. I won't let you. If you want to kill a vampire, kill me. Go ahead. Kill me. Not David." The words became harder and harder to say. "I won't let you. Kill me.

  Kill me instead."

  The mambo struggled to hold her hands down. "We need you to save the city from being wiped out entirely from the face of the Earth."

  "I won't let you kill him." Laura gasped with failing breath.

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  "I don't know what he's done to deserve such devotion."

  "He saved my life." Tears streamed down her face.

  "You call being a vampire having a life?"

  Laura laughed even though her eyes were closed in pain. "Whatever life anyone has depends on what they make of it. David and I had a beautiful life together, and I won't let you kill him. I won't . . .” Her words trailed off into unconsciousness.

  Brilla eased her head up off the floor and managed to open her mouth a little.

  She poured the cool liquid down her throat. Laura sputtered, her vision blurred then everything faded.

  Even in her dream, Laura felt weak. She had to save his life. Brilla wasn't fooling around—her voodoo was deadly, even for vampires. Laura could tell David not to come, to stay away, that she didn't want him anymore. Even the thought of doing that pierced her heart. He meant so much to her, the idea of never seeing him again made life dark.

  There was so much she wanted to tell him. Laura tried to focus, tried to think of their apartment. The words were in her mouth, but the picture ran like a watercolor in the rain. Each phrase, each word drifted away. She had to tell him about the Qudis, whatever that was. If only she had the time to look it up in Brilla's books. Her thoughts

  . . . a jigsaw puzzle coming apart. This dream . . . feelings . . . incomplete thoughts.

  Laura was drifting away from herself. It was harder and harder to focus on anything.

  Then raw energy rushed through her body and tingled on her fingertips. Though a memory, a storm sang in her ears. Laura floated undisturbed at the heart of the tempest. The wind became her breathing, rushing through her. At the same time, it brushed against her then embrace
d her, caressing her like a lover. It howled its ancient 102

  song echoing in her body. She sang back to the wind, and it rewarded her devotion.

  Power flowed though her like nothing she had ever experienced.

  So this is what it was to be a Telkhine. Her mother never told her. When she was very little, they played games some days when the heat sweltered in the city. She could smell the stink of the bayou. Her mother would tickle her. They both laughed so hard, they cried. It would rain, not a lot but just enough to beat the heat for a while. In her dreams, Laura let the storms embrace her. If only she knew what her mother knew. If only the wisdom had been passed down to her instead of receiving the scraps and pieces that Brilla remembered. She called to her mother. Laura needed to know more. She clawed the air in a desperate reach for life.

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  Chapter 9

  David sat up in bed and shivered. He wasn't cold. Fear held him. Where was Laura? He waited at their apartment all night, but she never came. Something wasn't right. He felt it in his bones. If he didn't get to her soon, she would forget him.

  Getting up from the sofa, he opened the drapes to let in the night. The air smelled so good it helped ease his breaking heart.

  David took a pint of blood from the refrigerator and finished it off. Only one pint left and the steak. He would have to get in some shopping after finding Laura's father.

  Sitting in a green overstuffed chair, he took out the phone book and turned on the light on the table next to him. There were a lot of listings for Dupre, and most for a D. Dupre.

  David sighed and took the phone in hand to begin the hunt.

  On the 12th call, he heard an older male voice say, "It's Donovan. What do you want? Spill it after the beep." David hung up and wrote down the address and number on the hotel notepad. He sat looking at it for several minutes, trying to think of what he would say. Getting up and donning his coat, David tore the paper off the notepad and put it in his pocket before going out the door.

  David didn't know Orlando. He didn't have directions like those Marchon had given him to Antoine's, so he flagged down a cab and got in. The driver pulled away 104

  from the luxury hotel onto the highway for one exit, then into the more modest neighborhoods in Orlando. The single-floor white stucco houses were on small lots with driveways dividing them. Palm trees had been planted here and there. Some of the small front yards were beautifully designed gardens of tropical flora. The residence of Donovan Dupre had a single tree in front and nothing more, and that tree could have used some watering.

  Ringing the doorbell brought no response. Neither did knocking. Obviously Laura's father wasn't home. David sat on the steps to wait.

  A heavyset, bald man walking his German shepherd stopped. Laura had once shown him her parents' wedding photo, so he knew this wasn't Donovan.

  "Is there something I can help you with?" asked the man.

  "I'm waiting for Donovan." David became aware of other eyes staring at him from the windows of nearby houses.

  "Who are you?"

  "I'm a relative."

  The dog sat quietly by his master's side and David leaned over and petted him.

  "Brutus doesn't like most people, but he likes you. Who did you say you were?"

  David thought the man to be a busybody but answered anyway figuring if he gave enough information the man would answer in kind. "My name's David Hilliard."

  "Got any ID. I'm on the neighborhood watch."

  "Sure." David pulled out his wallet and then handed the man his license. The neighbor stepped back under a street light to see it better.

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  "So you are. You know you can't be too careful these days." He handed back the license. "I don't think Donovan would mind me telling you that his job got switched over to the night shift yesterday. You should have called first."

  "Yeah, I know that now."

  "Well, he'll be coming home anytime now. See ya." The neighbor walked on with his dog, and David went back to sitting on the front step. He saw curtains on several houses close as they decided he was not a threat. David thought of his own neighbors in the apartment building. In a few minutes, Jace would be watering Laura's flowers in the window boxes before going to bed. Winthrop would be walking home with the morning paper, and Emily would be going into their apartment to make sure everything was all right and then lock it again. She'd leave the mail on the table. David missed his home with Laura.

  The sky was in its pale gray before dawn, when a man with a grizzled gray beard and long hair, reminding David of an old hippie, walked wearily up the walk to the house. David stood up, startling the man.

  "Donovan Dupre?"

  "Are you a cop?" Dupre peered at him suspiciously but obviously too tired to make a run for it.

  "No. I've come to see you about your daughter Laura."

  He stared at David. "Who are you?"

  "I'm David Hilliard, Laura's husband. We need your help."

  "Let's go inside and talk." Donovan unlocked the door and walked into the single-floor bungalow. The house had a living room, one bedroom, a kitchen, and one 106

  bathroom. In other words, it was small but cozy for one person. The décor was a combo of Florida souvenirs and highway signs. The beige paint on the walls had started to peel.

  "It's nothing much, but I call it home. I'm making coffee. Would you like one?"

  "No, thanks."

  Donovan went into the kitchen, and David walked around the living room pulling down the shades, closing curtains, and turning on a hula dancer lamp. The little plastic hula dancer twirled her hips and David chuckled. He took a seat in a green chair that sank a little when he sat in it.

  Donovan walked in and put his coffee on the table. "It's dark in here. Let me open a window."

  "No," said David. "I have trouble with sunlight."

  "Oh? Why is that?" Donovan sat on the sofa with his back to the windows.

  "Because I'm a vampire."

  Donovan jumped up on the sofa. Fear radiated from him. "You're a vampire!"

  David could tell he was considering racing for the door. David didn't move, and Donovan remained frozen in indecision.

  "Please, sit down. I'm not going to hurt you. You're my father-in-law. We're family. Besides Laura would never forgive me if I bit her father."

  Donovan half-heartedly chuckled. Then he hesitantly sat down on the sofa as far from David as possible. He looked around the room nervously.

  "Looking for a weapon?"

  Donovan looked pale. He didn't answer.

  "I don't mean to scare you. I wish didn't have to be here."

  "Why are you here?"

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  David put his head in his hands, his fingers wrenching his hair in nervous frustration. He had to win over Laura's father. He looked up. "Laura has been kidnapped, and Mama Joe said the only chance I have to get her back is if you help."

  "Whoa. Mama Joe, huh?"

  David nodded.

  "Even vampires have problems."

  "Yes, they do. I have to get Laura back. I love her. Please, help us."

  "Is Laura a vampire too?"

  David dreaded this question. "Yes."

  Donovan narrowed his eyes. "Did you make her a vampire?"

  David sighed. "She was going to die, so yes, I did."

  The older man sat quietly for a long time and then said, "Prove to me that you're Laura's husband."

  David dug his wallet out of his back pocket and offered it to Donovan.

  He didn't move any closer. "Just throw it over here."

  He did and Donovan bent gingerly down to the floor to pick it up. David relaxed back into his chair, as Donovan pulled out the driver's license and examined it.

  "I thought vampires couldn't have their pictures taken. Has to do with the same reason they don't have a reflection, I think."

  "A friend of mine is an inventor, and he's come up with a technology that can take a vampire's photo. He also runs a side business in fake
driver's licenses and passports."

  "It's a damn good fake."

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  He went through the wallet further and found another license. It was Laura's.

  He pulled it out and looked like he would cry on the spot. Then he came over and sat in a chair, closer but not too close to David.

  "She's beautiful. She looks just like her mother." He sighed. "Why do you have Laura's license?"

  "She left it behind in the room in her purse. Laura was kidnapped at the end of our wedding ceremony."

  David dreaded each of these questions. Any wrong answer could cause Donovan to flee, and he would have to let him go. Mama Joe said that Donovan had to volunteer; he had to choose to help of his own free will.

  "None of this proves that you're my daughter's husband."

  David shook his head. "I don't have any proof. Vampires do not get marriage licenses from the state. We were married in a ceremony two days ago at a friend's house in New Orleans. Laura and I have lived together for a year. I could tell you a billion things about Laura, but I don't know that it would make a difference as you last saw her when she was a baby. All I know is that Laura believed in you. She told me her father left one night to get groceries and never came back. She believed something terrible happened to prevent you from returning, because you loved your family very much.

  Laura believed that. Maybe that's why Mama Joe sent me to find you."

  Donovan's face sank and he looked suddenly older. His eyes misted as he looked at David.

  "Is Laura happy being a vampire?"

  "She was until Brilla kidnapped her." This wasn't entirely true but to say more was, well, it would be too complicated and David couldn't risk alienating her father.

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  "Oh, God, Brilla."

  "You know her?"

  "Oh, yes." The air escaped though his teeth with those words. "She's one hell of a dangerous mambo. The day I married my Juliette, Laura's mother, she walked up to me and told me I wasn't worthy to marry a Telkhine."