Haven (16) He was snapped back into the present as the shape he had been pursuing came closer to the light. She stood in the shadows and looked his way as if she sensed him there. Mark knew she could hurt him from even this distance. His curiosity kept him in place, though. He wanted to know exactly who and what this woman was. When he had been kicked out of Molly’s home, he decided that he would find the people that had hurt him. Amanda had been a surprise to him. He was very glad that he had met her, though. Now he knew a little more about how different he was. Not to mention that he had never even thought to give himself a name before that. When the woman had walked out to kill him the night before, he had not sensed the fire of human life in her. She seemed to radiate a coldness that was beyond Mark’s experience. He intended to find out a few things this night. His prey stepped into the wash of streetlights and revealed herself to any eyes that cared to see. Mark kept to the darkness on his side of the street, but followed her closely. His throat still ached and throbbed from the burning knife that she carried, and he was in no hurry to taste its fire again so soon. Mark simply watched and followed. Thoughts came and went as he tracked Grace through the city. He wondered what had become of his mother more than anything else. Only vague memories of her stirred in his mind, and he could be sure of none of them. She had always been kind to him, even if somewhat fearful. Mark loved her as much as he knew how, and he wondered why she had left him. Much to his surprise, a flood of red tears began to roll down his face. He stopped where he was and let Grace go ahead of him. No longer did he care about her. Mar was more concerned with the strange tears that had leapt to his eyes. He felt a pain in his chest though he could identify no wound there. His legs became weak and he crumpled to the ground. The tears continued to come as he doubled up in the snow. Mark lay on the snowy sidewalk and wept for hours. Fear of this new sorrow consumed him and he wept more. Finally, the sobs ended, and Mark lay in the cold. His clothes were soaked through with a bloody sweat, and he was still unsure of what had happened to him. After he had collected himself a little, Mark once more set out in search of Grace. He was blood soaked from head to toe, but he somehow felt better than he had before the ordeal. It was his first experience with sadness that powerful, and it had been a rather freeing experience for him. * * * * * * * Dom still sat dumfounded in his living room when the phone rang. He lifted the receiver slowly to his ear. His mind was full of too many things and it took several seconds for the tired “Hello,” to make it out of his throat. “Dominic Erudite?” asked a refined British voice that sounded very far away. “Yes?” “You ordered a Fixer for Haven?” “Yes.” “I will arrive in the city shortly after sunrise. Could you meet me at the airport? I would like to begin at the exchange of information as soon as possible.” “Yeah, sure. Where and when?” Dom tried to decipher what it was that bothered him about the man’s voice. “Gate 102 at 6:45am.” The man hung up. Dom looked at a clock on the far wall and saw that it was close to 4:00am. Dom stayed in the apartment for a while longer to be sure that the police had not been summoned to the gunshot. When he was sure that all was safe, he called for a cab. By he estimation he should make it with time to spare. * * * * * * * The sky was just beginning to brighten a bit when Seamus found Sarah wandering the streets. When he saw her moving on the opposite side of the street he almost mistook her for a human. In all his unlife he had never witnessed a vampire smoking. She was even moving like a human. Lost in thought, Sarah scarcely noticed when he ran to her side. She turned her head and stared at him as if in a trance. For a long moment he said nothing. He found her sluggish actions foreboding and wondered if he had intruded on important thoughts. “Sarah?” his tone was slow and careful. She narrowed her eyes at Seamus, but the expression held no menace. “Yes?” she said carefully. “Can I help you?” “I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. It is about Martin.” This seemed to snap Sarah out of her stupor. “What about Martin?” she asked. “Is there somewhere we can talk? It’s kind of a long story.” Seamus was surprised by the look that Sarah gave him. It was a sort of half-smile as her eyes brightened with interest. He was not aware that he was one of the first vampires in decades to approach Sarah in this friendly a manner. “My apartment is right down the street. What is so important?” Sarah was still a little wary of him. She recognized him as the young vampire she had followed on the night that all this began. “It’s about Martin’s innocence in all of this. I saw what happened at the old hall.” Sarah began walking down the street and waved for Seamus to follow. * * * * * * * The three women sat in silence as Martin finished his tale. He had told them about his life in Shallot, which was an especially difficult part of the story for Angelique to hear. Martin had spared no detail. He thought it would have been an injustice to leave out the woman that he had met there, and had meant so much to him. He told them of how the Organization had laid waste to the city and killed everyone there save himself and a few others. He told them everything they had done to him there, and of the vampire-killing drug they had created. Finally, he told them about how he had killed Grace and escaped. “It was shortly after that,” he finished, “when I met Amanda and changed her.” Angelique stared at him with a cold kind of horror. “Are you saying that the Organization is here in Haven?” she asked him. “Well, yes,” he said. “But, it’s stranger than that. About a month after my escape, an agent of the Organization found me. Very nearly killed me.” He paused for a moment, making sure he had included all relevant details. “It was Grace.” “The one you killed?” Jenny asked, a little disappointed. She had been somewhat impressed with Martin’s tale of killing her. It seemed typical to her that Martin would have botched the job. “Yes. Only this time she did not go down so easily. I had picked up a gun after my escape since the Organization tends to come in numbers and it is wise not to get too close to them. So far, it seems they haven’t found a way to use their chemical with bullets. Anyway, I shot her at least five times, and she didn’t even flinch. She’s not human whatever she is now, and she’s in Haven.” “What does she look like?” asked Jenny through clenched teeth. “Short, blonde, fair-skinned, small frame.” “She’s working with a man here in Haven,” she confirmed. Martin looked at her inquisitively. “I was attacked a few nights ago. I’ve had a little experience with that chemical you talked about.” She stood up. “Do you know where she is now?” “No, why?” Martin asked her. “So I can go kill her.” “If that’s what you want then just stay here. She’ll find me.” “I’m not gonna stay here and wait for her to come. I’ll find her myself.” Martin had no time to protest before Jenny was gone. “I have a question,” Angelique finally found the voice to say. “But, I would prefer to ask it in private.” Martin nodded to Amanda. The girl stood without a word and left the alley. “What is it?” Martin asked as Angelique was standing. She took a few steps toward him. He could see the crimson tears welling in her eyes. He reached out slowly to comfort her and was met with a sharp right hook in the jaw too fast for him to see coming. For a moment he was dazed. He felt something cold on his shoulder that he soon realized was the ground. Angelique stood over him, her jaw clenched in rage. “Thirty-five years, Martin.” Her voice was cold and Martin found that he could not answer to it. “I waited here for you for three and a half decades. Sobbing every night, praying that you would come back like you promised. All the while you were living happily in Shallot with the new lover you had found there. You deserved what you got, and you deserve what is coming to you.” Angelique turned and walked away from him. She marched out of the alley without a word to the silent Amanda. Amanda watched her without a word, only a smile. Angelique paid no attention to her. She only walked. She walked until Haven was far behind her. It was the last that any of Haven’s dark denizens ever saw of Angelique. * * * * * * * Dom sat on the uncomfortable stool in the airport bar of his choice and watched as the horizon started to brighten. Airport bars were very dismal places in his opinion. In his time with the Organization, Dom had seen several airports and several bars. Over time he had decided that the two did not belong together. The alcohol was almost always less than quality. It was certainly no place to meet someone. It was difficult to establish a meaningful dialogue with someone that would shortly be leaving on the nine o’clock flight to Fresno. Also, the bars were usually too well lit for one to thoroughly enjoy a drink. Behind the bar was a large beefy man that raised his eyebrows at Dom ordering a shot of tequila at six in the morning. The bartender slid the glass toward Dom without a word. He did not care what the barman thought of him. After the night he had been through, Dom, felt that the drink was well deserved. He turned the glass up and grimaced at the bar, realizing there was a lemon nowhere in sight. Dom paid the barman and sat in silence for a while. The sun was already beginning to peek over the horizon. He knew that the Fixer’s arrival was still half an hour away, and he had time to enjoy this simple pleasure. Lately, such things had not been appreciated nearly enough. On wall of the bar was dedicated to just such distractions. A wall of windows faced to the east, giving an easy view of the flat horizon. Dom marveled silently as soft orange light rolled out over the land and came tumbling toward the window that he faced. In that moment, as the sun’s light crept over the world and came finally to rest warmly on Dom’s face, it seemed that the sun rose for him alone. He smiled, stood up, and left the bar. He moved through the airport in a daze until he came to gate 102. He sat down and continued his waiting. According to his watch, it would be fifteen minutes until the plane landed. Thoughts of Grace seemed to be all that he could think. Whatever she had become since her supposed shift to vampirism, it did not seem to have a full grasp on her humanity. At times he had seen that frightening gleam in her eyes, but other times there had been a genuine human life in her. Dom could see such things in beings. It was one of the reasons he had been classified as an Observer. Yet, even though he could see these qualities of inhumanity in Grace, he could not figure out what on earth she had become. The only thing he knew of that preyed so viciously on vampires were shadows, and Grace showed none of the traits of a shadow. There was also the fact that one does not simply become a shadow over the course of a few years. Dom considered for a moment the idea of an unknown factor. The name and classification of the prisoner that had escaped along with Martin were unknown to Dom. It seemed that if it had been the McDade girl that Grace had spoken of, then her name would have been in the report, or at least, the fact that she had been a vampire. He had no time to consider it anymore. Passengers were beginning to spill out of the plane. Dom stood and watched each person as they received a quick farewell from a flight attendant. It did not take long to find the man that he was there to meet. Jack Usher moved in a fashion that was anything but casual. Each movement had purpose, every gesture the mark of a man determined to do his duty, whatever that may be. Dom watched the man nod politely to the stewardess, and then shift his attention toward Dom. The man approached him sternly and nodded in greeting. “Jack Usher, Fixer, Star-Class.” “Star-Class?” asked Dom. He was totally unaware of any such rank. “Yes,” Jack answered. His tone of voice made it very clear that he had no inclination toward explaining it to Dom. “Dominic Erudite, Observer, First-Class.” He thought it best not to ask any more questions until it became necessary. “Very good.” Dom was fast realizing that Jack was not a man that cared to be bothered with non-essential talk. “You have been given a temporary residence in Haven. I suggest that we discuss any further matters there.” “Do you have any luggage?” Dom asked. The man held up a largish valise signifying that he carried no other baggage. Dom led the man out of the airport and to a waiting taxi. * * * * * * * It was nine in the morning before Seamus finished his story to Sarah’s satisfaction. She had constantly stopped him at regular intervals to ask questions. She wanted to know exactly what the two assailants had looked like, how they moved, and what they smelled like. Seamus could not imagine how most of these questions related to the situation, but he answered them all as best he could. When he had finally finished his tale, Sarah looked both relieved and anxious at once. Seamus was very pleased with himself, and he did not care if it showed on his face. It was the first time since coming to Haven that he had felt like a useful member of the Society. It was a rather dramatic change from sweeping floors, and he was glad of it. It seemed to him that he had been given just the chance he had been looking for. He was, however, disappointed that it took so many deaths to give him that chance. “So, tell me, Seamus. Why go through so much trouble just to prove the innocence of one vampire that you don’t even know?” Seamus was taken aback by the question, and he realized that Sara was likely reading his thoughts. “It seemed like the right thing to do,” he said, wondering himself if he was being honest. “Indeed it was,” Sarah replied. “Still just because he did not commit the crime himself does not make him innocent. Stephanie only said that Martin was responsible for the deaths.” “Well, I have done all that I can do, then.” Seamus was suddenly very heavy-hearted. It bothered him that, in the end, all of his trouble had made little difference.
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