Chapter 5
Sirous loved riding the train. It was a long way to go to see his good friend, but it let him look at the scenery as he got there, and there was nothing wrong with that. It might well be his last time seeing some of the sights, and he didn’t want to miss out on that. As the train came into another station, he decided to get off this time and have a look around. It was supposed to be a good place, and he was hungry for something to read as well. Getting off and keeping his hat tight on his head, Sirous decided to take a tour of the brewery that was on this route.
At the last minute, he decided to go to the courthouse. There was something going on there today, and he decided that it might be a good way to use up a couple of hours. As soon as the courtroom was called to order, he knew he’d made the right choice. There was a trial for a woman with two children who had killed her husband and his lover. Nothing not good about that, he thought with a grin.
He listened to the attorney for the young woman and was happy to find out that she said herself to be innocent. She told the courtroom that she’d befriended a man who said that he’d take care of her, and when her husband had ended up dead, the man had disappeared. He only had to wonder for a moment if the man had been a vampire when the woman, Sally, had said that with her dead husband, there was a lot of ash like the man had set himself a flame.
“You expect us to believe that this man out of nowhere came to your aid and then burnt himself up when your husband was dead.” She told the courtroom that she didn’t have any other knowledge of what happened to him. He had promised to take care of her. “Yes, we heard about you suddenly having money and a house. Quite convenient if you ask me. And you’ve no idea that he was going to do that for you, I’m assuming.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell the court that the man had been a vampire and that the woman Sally had been his mate. In the little time that he’d met her, not only had he made sure that she had all she needed, but he would bet anything that their names were filed as man and wife in the courthouse as well. That more than likely wouldn’t go over very well, not with her current husband being dead, but that was something that was easy for him to look into. At the break, he decided to do just that.
Not only did he find that it had been done, but that the little girl and boy had been registered to the vampire as well. He knew of Salvator Henry but had never made his acquaintance. It would be a shame after all this time for him to lose his mate after waiting so long to find her, but there was little to nothing he could do about that. Sirous would, however, do all he could to help the vampire’s mate and children so that they could get all the gifts of his estate given to them.
The first thing he did during the break was to find out where he’d been killed. After finding one of the older newspapers, not only did he find that, but he also found that Ben Trussell had been shot several times in the head. That couldn’t be right. If Salvador had killed him, it would have been easier for him to have gutted the man or removed his head rather than to have a gun. Something was off about that.
It didn’t take him long with his digging to find the real killer. The man, Ben, had a gambling problem. And his bookie was the one that had killed him when he’d not come through with the money that was owed to him. He would have loved to have been able to dig deeper into the plot, but the train was only going to be in town for another few hours, and he wanted to be on it when it left. Whispering in the ear of the attorney for young Sally, he was able to have the man look into things and get the woman off death row. By the end of the day, not only was Sally reunited with her children, but the paperwork was filed on the house that she’d live in for the rest of her life. He was ever so glad that he’d been a lawyer recently and been able to put the right words into the attorney’s mind to get the job finished.
It always surprised him when attorneys were so slacking in their jobs. This man could have done what he’d done, dug a little deeper into the story, and found that Ben was a gambler who was very behind in his payments to his bookie. Or he could have asked the lady who ran his office what had happened that day. It was all there for him to find.
The vampire, sadly, was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had died. But the secretary had known what had transpired in the office, and the bookie would have been arrested in the first place.
As it was, Sally had been separated from her children, and it caused them all unnecessary stress. As he got back on the train, he saw that the woman was going into her new home, which Salvador had provided for her. Poor man, to wait so long to find your mate only to be killed.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. He did do a good bit more sightseeing and had gone into one more courtroom— It was a divorce proceeding and he didn’t get involved in that one. Sirous, did people watch. It was something that he’d enjoyed even before going through the change into a vampire. It was another reason that he’d taken the train rather than willing himself to Brew’s home. He was able to see humans and shifters at their best and worse while he traveled around. He also got to try a lot of wines, his favorite thing to partake of while he was traveling.
Sirous forgot to call Brew and tell him that he was going to arrive by train. It was all right, he supposed. This way, he could hang out at the station for a few hours and continue with his fun. The thing about humans that he…well, he didn’t enjoy it but did observe it was how they seemed to be oblivious to things around them. A beautiful sunset was missed because they were arguing with their mate. A missed painting because their heads were buried into their phone. The pet owner who no more deserves their love than they do that of their human. Beautiful things. Small items. Tiny smells that make the world a better place. All missed because humans and shifters alike just forget to look.
There were other things that he was doing on this trip. He was going to smell things like the roses and daisies. He wanted to smell the babies of the world as well. The soft fragrance of baby powder would make his day. The smell of an ocean, its saltiness, made him think of summer days with his family when they were traveling to the new world. He was going to make sure that he heard the operas that were all the rage when he’d been younger. The sound of a bird chirping in the morning before a big storm as well.
Anything and everything that he could feel, too. The softness of a woman’s cheek. The feel of a shell in his fingers, the sharp edge of a blade newly formed. His own needs in this ending of his life—for yes, that was his plan to get his senses ready for his death by giving them everything in the world that he hadn’t given himself time to sense.
He’d been around too long, he’d decided. Even if he’d met his mate right now, he’d go on with his plans. He knew, Sirous knew that as soon as he met her, he’d have to let her go. His life had been too set, his ways too long ago made. As a man who had been around for thousands of years, he knew that someone who would come into his life wouldn’t want to be around him. Sometimes, he hated to be near himself. It was because of the way that he’d become. Jaded. He was jaded from everything in the world and just didn’t have the time to be retrained, even if he wanted to.
The plan was to say his goodbyes to those who had meant so much to him. Brewster, for sure, and his new mate, too. Then there was Rance and Rutger. Yosef and Kenneth. He was going to tell them how much they’d meant to him, then drink a glass of wine in their honor before meeting with his death. It wouldn’t be an easy one. He’d have to have someone remove his head. The sun, long since not harming him, would do him no good. It was his head that would be removed that would end his existence, and he was glad that he’d long ago talked his good friend Yosef into being the one to do it for him. Perhaps the two of them could end their lives together if he was of a mind to.
The ride was nearly to its end when he finally found the connection to Yosef. It wasn’t like they ever lost the connection, but after so long of unuse, it was difficult to connect with it again. As the connection was made, it brought a smile to his face when his longtime friend connected.
“What do you want? I’ve no use for sentimental calls right now. Have you heard from Brew? The old fool is acting like he’s young again. Found his mate and is acting like we all would benefit from finding our own.” He huffed, sounding like they’d been speaking for hours rather than just a few seconds. “The old fool. What would I do with a mate at my age, I ask you? She’d run me to the ground or take all my money. Mates aren’t like they used to be.”
“How would you know what a mate is like, you geezer? You’ve nary a reference to go by other than what you have dreamed up in your head.” He said he could think about anything that he liked. “Good for you. If you were to find your mate, you’d die of sex overload, from what I hear. Brew wouldn’t tell me, but I think he’s having sex more now than all of us did together when we were newly turned.”
“That would be just like him, too, don’t you think? He’s never had any sense when he was younger.” Sirous called him a liar. “I am not. Remember how he used to take chances with everything? When he was hungry, he’d pay the humans for their kindness. Kindness, my big toe. If they knew what he was doing, they’d cut him to ribbons like he was the monster that he was. What makes him think that paying for a bit of nourishment was good for the humans? They’d just spend it on women and drink.”
“Good god, man, you’re old.” He pointed out that he was older. “Yes, I am, but I’ve never known a man to act as old as you seem to be right now. Have you ever come to the new century, or are you still living in the one that you were born in? What have you been doing with your life, you old man?”
“Nothing.” He huffed again. “What did you want? Did you only call to bust my chops about Brew?” He pointed out that he’d been the one that brought up Brew. “Well, it goes without saying that he’s going to get his comeuppance when his mate outlives him for whatever reason.”
“What is wrong with you? Did someone stub your toe or something? You’re crankier now than I remember.” He said he was having a bad day. “Don’t take it out on me, you bastard. I called because I’m going to end my life, and you promised to do that for me by removing my head.”
That shut him up. Not only did he not seem to have anything to say, but he couldn’t hear him breathing either. A good sign that he was shocked to his heart. After waiting a few more minutes, Sirous continued.
“I’m to see the others before I go. Brew has told me that he’s bringing them all to him to meet his mate, and it will be then that I have my final wishes taken care of. I’ve had enough of this world and the people in it, and I want to meet and see my parents again in the other world.” Yosef asked him if he was serious. “As serious as my name proclaims. I’ve called to see if you’re still the one that will end it all for me. If not, tell me now, as I wish to have my ending lined up so that I don’t have to go looking for someone to do it for me.”
“I’ll do it. If you still wish it. ‘Twill be hard on me, as you might know. You’re about the only one that I’ve ever talked to in the last few hundred years. Are you—no, don’t answer that. I know you’re ready. You’ve more than likely been planning this for a good long time, too. I’m betting that you have your will made out and all your things given away before the vampire committee gets their hands on things.” He told him that things were lined up for him. “You’re leaving it all to me? That will set some asses on fire, don’t you think?”
“I know that you, of all people, will do as I have asked and make sure that the money goes where I want it to. I had been going to ask Brew, but with his new mate, I figured that he’d be too busy right now.” Yosef huffed. He was better at that noise than anyone that he’d ever met. The man made it his life’s work to be the best at it, too. “There are only a few things that I’ve left undone, and I figure that you would know how to take care of them when the time comes.”
“And what if you’re like Brew and meet your other half while you’re with him.” He told him that his plans were set and that he wanted his life to end no matter what. “Well, I’m not going to hold you to that. If you meet her, and I’m not saying that you will, then I’ll leave you be. You deserve happiness or whatever comes from having a mate more than most. You’ve had a rough life, my friend, and I don’t want to begrudge you something special.”
“Special? It sounds like a great deal of work. He’s in New York with her now instead of Ohio, where he belongs. She’s dragging him all over the place and spending his money. We both know he has a great deal of it. And he’ll spend it all in the first decade. Then where will he be?”
“Now you sound like me.” They both laughed. “Nay, I want you to know now that I’ll not do it if you find your mate. If she spends all your money, then that’s the way that it should be. You broke with a woman that has it all. I’ll do it only if you have no mate, and that’s where I stand on things. You can’t change my mind, so don’t even try.”
The rest of their conversation was about the trip he was on. Yosef had been a kiss leader in his time, something that he didn’t think the rest of them had done. He’d complained about it from the moment the first vampire had moved in and still complained about it today. He thought that his good friend would continue to complain about it well into the next few centuries as well. It was what made him love the old man, his way of turning anything good into a complaint.
~*~
Calla had been warned about the release of her uncle. She wasn’t as afraid as she’d been about it, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think that he was going to die on the steps of the police station, either. The things that they’d found out about him were vast, and she didn’t understand how he’d been free all this time in the first place. He’d murdered several people who hadn’t complied with his demands of helping kill her off.
“I should have told him that I can’t die but to remove my head.” She’d been talking to herself for the last hour while weeding the herb garden. It was nice to be out in the sunshine and doing something productive. Hattie was making her comfort food for dinner tonight, and she was looking forward to it. “That’s what he’d do too. Remove my head before I have a chance to see him bleed out.” The wolves told her that he’d not get close to her. But she knew better than to think that was going to be that easy. He’d get by them in some way, and that would be all she wrote.
“Have you found all the little tabs to sign?” She’d forgotten about that, to sign off on the last of the paperwork for Brew. After telling him that she was going to do it right now, she looked at how much she’d gotten done and how much more she had to go. “Go ahead and finish it. I know you want to.”
She laughed and told him to join her. But he couldn’t. He had a meeting with his attorney that he couldn’t miss again. He’d been doing that a great deal since she’d come into his life. Missing meetings and phone calls to spend time with her. She’d told him just yesterday that he was going to miss something that she needed to do for herself if he kept that up and decided that he’d stick to his schedule. Calla pointed out to him that they had the rest of their lives together and that missing a few hours here or there wouldn’t matter that much in the long run. He begrudgingly agreed with her.
The garden was looking good when she finally went into the house. Hattie and Landon were off tonight, and she was going to have a cold-cut sandwich. Understanding why the others had stopped eating, she was bored with having to have a meal all by herself. She was going to have to get her some friends so that they could join her once in a while for a meal as well. However, she did enjoy giving Brew his meal. Christ, it was like every day he’d find new ways to make love to her that would bring her over the mountain of relief more and more.
“I have two things that I have to get taken care of.” She was surprised to find Hattie in the kitchen when she went into the house. “Did you know that I can order food for the house and not have to go to the store? I’m thinking that I’m going to love that. And as you have your friends over, we’ll be cooking more. Oh, I baked you some of those cookies that you love. Also, the second thing. There is a farmers market on Saturday mornings in Zanesville. I’m going to be heading up there for some of the herbs that I’ve seen there before. We’ll trade them out of the garden once I get them. And the market, now you’re going to love this. They have coffee and tea there that you can serve to your new friends.”
“I don’t have any friends.” She told her that she didn’t have any friends yet. “Yes, well, I don’t have any yet. You really think that I’ll have some soon?”
“You’re a wonderful addition to this town. Well, you’ve been here before but now people are going to want to get closer to you because you’re queen of the vampires. You do know that his lordship is the king, don’t you?”
“He never mentioned it.” She said it would be like him not to tell her. “I thought that he didn’t care for a kiss.”
“Oh, he doesn’t. But that’s not the same thing. He’s the king of all the others, and a kiss is where a bunch of them will live together in a single dwelling. It doesn’t work out too well, them all being so old and sometimes mean, but Brew he doesn’t live with anyone but you. And when his friends come to visit, he did tell you about them, didn’t he?” She told her that he had. “Good. When they come around, it won’t be a kiss but a friendly get-together with them. And they’re about as nice as they could be, according to Landon. He’s looking forward to it as well.”
“Well, good.” She didn’t know what to think about having visitors, but she wanted Brew to have whatever he wanted. As they talked about the other things that the market had, she was excited to go there and pick up some flowers for the house as well. Calla loved having flowers all over the house, inside and out. “What time do they open?”
After working out the logistics about the marketplace, the two of them decided that they’d go together. It would be a nice way to get up in the sunshine, and they served fresh donuts as well. It was only Thursday, so she was excited about the weekend.
For the rest of the evening, she and Brew sat on the couch and read their books. A new one had come out with his favorite author, so he was engrossed in that. She was reading a book about herbs that she’d found and was happily taking notes when their front doorbell rang. Landon—instead of being off, he was working in the kitchen with Hattie on the new menu program that they’d found. She didn’t care. She loved the food that they were making for her.
“I’d like to see my niece.” She was behind the door when she heard the voice on the other side of the door. “I’ve been told that she’s supposed to be married to the man that lives here, and I want to talk to her.”
“She’s not willing to talk to you, sir. Now, if there is nothing else, I shall close the door in your face. It’s much nicer than I really want to do.”
The door closed, and Landon looked at her with a broad smile. When he made his way toward the kitchen, she laughed. Brew joined her in the hallway just as Hattie was telling him to knock the man into next month. She had a feeling that was going to happen when the doorbell sounded again.
“You have no right to slam the—who the hell do you think you are?” Landon told him that he was the butler of the house. “If she can afford a butler, she can well surely afford to pay me some walking around money. Tell her to get her ugly ass in here—”
“I believe myself to think that all asses are ugly. I’ve not had the opportunity to see the mistress of the house, not that I would even if given the chance, but I would say that all people have the same form and shape to them. Why would you wish to speak to her ass anyway? There isn’t going to be any conversation with it.” Daniel asked him what he was talking about. “You asked to speak to her ass. Also, I’m not sure how you expect anything but her ass to come to the door as it is attached to her. You might say that it’s a part of her, but I’m not sure one hundred percent about that.”
“Just get her in here.” Brew was standing next to her and laughing as well. She’d not known that Landon had such a warped sense of humor, but she loved it. When clearing his throat, Brew went to the door himself. “You there. I don’t want to talk to you. You’ve made threats against me, and I’m going to call the police on you. They already know that if anything happens to me, it’s because you did it.”
“I’m sure that they do. You were warned about coming here.” Daniel said that he didn’t take warnings. “Too bad for you. You might well want to have a look behind you, Mr. Marshall. It seems that you were warned by the wolf pack as well to save me the trouble of killing you. I believe that they’ll make it harder on you than I will. I would just slice open your throat and be done with you, but they’ll I do believe that they’ll play with you for a while before actually killing you. Good for them.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not stupid enough to turn around and see nothing behind me so that you can close the door in my face again. That other guy did it, and I won’t allow you to do that to me again.” Brew told him to suit himself. She came around the door when Brew asked her to. “There you are. I sure hope that you’ve made your final wishes known. You’re going to be taking care of me the rest of your life.”
“If I’ve made my final wishes, that means that I’m dead. So how would I take care of you for the rest of my life if I’m dead? Not that I have any plans to do anything for you, but you just said something that makes no sense at all. Again.” He told her that he knew what he said and he wanted the money they’d agreed on right now. “We didn’t agree on anything, you slimy bastard.”
One of the wolves, she didn’t know them by sight, came up and lifted his leg against Daniel’s pant leg. As the liquid sprayed all over him, the other wolves, there were six of them laughed. She thought it was quite funny, too. Just as she was going to engage with him again to piss him off more, he was gone. Nothing was left on the front step but one of his shoes and the hat that he’d had on his head.
Stepping out into the evening, she looked both ways to see where he’d gone. It didn’t occur to her that the wolves had taken him. But in the distance, she could hear howling, and she suddenly knew where her uncle was.
The door shut when she stepped into the house, and she looked at Brew. Landon had gone back into the house, and she didn’t want to think about what had happened. Walking into Brew’s arms, she was held by him while he spoke to her.
“He’ll never bother you again.” She nodded. “You don’t understand, love. He might not be dead as yet, but before the wolves leave the field that they’re in, Daniel will be no more and no one will grieve over his passing. I have an attorney going over his estate, and once that is all taken care of and his clothing is found, they’ll make sure that you are given what is left of his estate. There is very little of it, but it will be yours.”
“I don’t want it.” Brew nodded as if he understood her. “Can’t we just set up what little there is to go to some church or something? Not in his name but just so that I don’t have to deal with it or him anymore.”
“As you wish.” He continued to hold her, and she loved his warm arms around her. “My friends have all gotten back to me, and they’re making plans to come here. I’ve heard from Sirous that Yosef is in a mood and might well be better off not having much to do with him until later. He’s always been a bit of a grouchy person, but he’s gotten worse since he’s been alone. I was told that there was not even a house to his name anymore. Sirous is coming by train, and he will make his way here when he arrives. He said that he has plenty more things to reflect on before he ends his life. He’s making no bones about it that he wants to die.”
“We’ll just have to change his mind when he gets here.” Brew told her good luck with that. “You don’t know what I can do to make him feel like he needs a new outlook on life. I’ll give it to him, and he’ll thank me for it.”
“I hope that you can. I’ve lost a great many friends by them being killed. Sirous is closer to Yosef, but he and I have been in contact with each other more than the others. Yosef, as I said, can be a very temperamental man when it suits him.” Calla told him that she’d fix him right up. “I know you can try love, but you don’t know him the way that I do.”
“I’ll get him wishing to have met me sooner. You’ll see.” He kissed her on the nose, and she told him about the market in Zanesville. “Hattie and I are going, and you should, too. You might find that you enjoy it as much as we do.”
“I enjoy anything and everything about you, my heart. I shall go so that I can make sure that you have the best of times. I’ve been to it before, last summer into fall, and I remember it being a good place to see the beautiful flowers in bloom. I believe at one time, we gathered our pumpkins there as well.