2. Face-Off #2
She walked right through his stepfather who was grinning slightly.
While she didn’t see him, she shivered and drew her jacket tighter around her lithe form.
The interaction had not gone unnoticed by the other reporters.
But upon seeing Caemorn by their group, the other reporters literally retreated the other way off of the platform.
Considering the show he’d put on and his good looks, Grayson was surprised in some way that they weren’t dying to talk to him.
But maybe that was the problem. They feared they would die if they talked to him.
Grayson waited a beat until Melinda and her cameraman were well out of earshot.
“Thanks.” Grayson stuck his hands into his front pockets. “To all of you. I appreciate the save.”
“She’s such a Class-A bitch,” Rachel snarled under her breath.
“She is effective at her job even if that makes her unpleasant in many other ways,” Caemorn said quietly.
“She is a hack!” Rachel shook her head. “She dumbs down everything to a soundbite. Maybe that’s okay for some things, but not for…
” Rachel stopped as she looked at Grayson and an almost guilty look crossed her face.
She likely felt she should have done something about his stepfather’s abuse.
But no one could have done anything. “There’s a lot of nuance to things.
Why things happen. People do things when they’re up against the wall.
Even if Melinda understands it, she won’t report the whole of it. ”
She knows I killed him. She just doesn’t know how. But she fears that it’ll get out and I’ll be prosecuted for it, Grayson realized.
But since he was an Immortal, there could be no prosecution. The Blood Pact made such an act unthinkable. Though the humans didn’t know who he was. Yet.
“I, personally, don’t want her to report any of it,” Grayson admitted and scrubbed the back of his neck.
His father looked at him with concern, seeing the droop of his shoulders, and the dark circles under his eyes. He wished he could hear the man’s voice. But he wasn’t a Speaker to the Dead or a Kaly.
“I know, but…” Rachel worried her lower lip. “She wasn’t lying when she said that people are writing stories about you, Grayson.”
Grayson lifted his head. They had no internet in the Ever Dark so he couldn’t keep up with the news.
The school was kept relatively cloistered from that sort of thing.
The students were not even allowed to speak to family or friends when they entered.
The reporters were the only ones who knew what was going on outside. And, of course, the Vampires, too.
Catching his eye, Caemorn said, “Balthazar will take care of this. There is no need to worry.”
“I’m not worried. It’s just a distraction,” Grayson said.
He caught sight of his father out of the corner of his eye.
The man was looking at him almost beseechingly.
What did he want from Grayson? To cry about what had happened?
He’d done plenty of that! So many worse things–more traumatic things–had happened to him as Ashyr that Grayson’s woes were not even a drop in the bucket!
But it matters to him, because I’m his son. I have to assure him that I can handle things from here and he can go, Grayson thought. I can do that for him at least. I owe him that.
“What are you going to do to take care of it?” Rachel asked, almost innocently, but with a touch of concern.
Caemorn just proceeded to stare at her unblinkingly. Grayson gave a soft laugh and touched Caemorn’s arm.
“She’s an old friend and neighbor,” he explained, though he was certain Caemorn knew this. “She is still friends with my… my mom. She just worries about me and all of it.”
That wasn’t exactly true. Rachel really did believe in the power of the press even if she thought other reporters like Melinda abused that power.
Caemorn nodded briefly then he said to Christian, “Only one hour. Grayson then should be escorted back to the dorms.”
Christian nodded. “It will be done.”
Rachel shifted from foot to foot. “Ah, I heard the students were going to get to meet the dead. People from their past or famous people even.”
Caemorn shocked them both when he asked her, “Who would you like to meet?”
“Oh, me? Well, I think my grand–”
“No, who would you like to meet really?” Caemorn interrupted.
She flushed and paled, but forced herself to go on, “There was a woman who was murdered in my hometown. She was single. About my age. She lived alone. Away from her family and friends. But she was driven by her career. She was found strangled in an alleyway behind her apartment. Her name was Erika George. They never found out who murdered her. And I think about her. Sometimes.” She cleared her throat as Caemorn kept staring and added, “A lot. I think about her a lot. Her case has gone cold and no one is looking into what happened to her anymore.”
“Would you like to speak with her now?” Caemorn asked. “Maybe she knows who killed her.”
Rachel’s eyes went huge and she blinked repeatedly. “Now?! Is she–”
“She’s here.” Caemorn tipped her head towards a point just beyond Rachel’s right shoulder.
“She is?” Rachel looked back, but didn’t see anyone as she turned around again looking slightly less hopeful.
“Come. Let us speak with her.” Caemorn started walking in the direction he had indicated but he called back, “One hour, Christian. Do not let Grayson convince you of a minute more.”
“Understood,” Christian said with a faint smile. “There’s a small clearing near here within the woods that I thought we would use.”
Grayson nodded. The weight of this meeting fell back upon his shoulders again.
He followed after Christian. His father kept pace with him.
His stepfather kept on his heels while Sam stumbled and bumbled his way at the rear.
Grayson kept his head down even though he knew that his father was watching him carefully.
He didn’t know this man. He couldn’t even remember his voice.
If he showed interest that might keep his father here longer.
He should be at peace or reborn or something.
“How did Caemorn know who Rachel really wanted to speak to? Did you look into her mind?” Grayson asked.
“No, souls linger by people who can help them or who they want to help… or hurt. Rachel was passionate about Erika’s case. She went to the crime scene a bunch of times, interviewed everyone who knew her and thought about her. Erika knew all of that,” Christian explained. “So she stayed near her.”
“And now she’ll get the opportunity to tell Rachel who killed her,” Grayson said with a nod of satisfaction.
“If she knows and it wasn’t a random act of violence,” Christian agreed. “But I doubt she would have stayed near Rachel without having some knowledge. Maybe your friend will be able to help solve the case.”
“Have the police come to the Eyros and the Kaly about solving murders? Not because they think we committed them, but because they believe we could help them?” Grayson asked.
Before, Vampires could not take jobs in the human world, especially the modern one, but now Vampire actors and musicians–Mirryrs and Siryns especially–were starting to emerge.
Vampires were sought after by universities to join their history departments especially.
Christian’s parents were already sponsoring several Vampires to join their university as faculty.
Really, if Vampires wanted to, they could do almost any job so long as it didn’t involve the sun.
The work they were doing in the sciences and technology could now become public. So many things could change.
“They have asked,” Christian said. “Balthazar used to help our local police department with crimes when one of them struck him as particularly egregious or posed a real risk. We have several Acolytes among their ranks so he didn’t even have to use mind control on them or plant suggestions.”
“There could be Vampire police, judges, attorneys, more,” Grayson remarked.
“There likely will be, but there are concerns about us being involved in human government,” Christian said.
“Besides, we like to work from the shadows and pull the strings,” Grayson agreed. “But it would be good if we could integrate more fully into society.”
“I do too. Though the US government is very keen on giving every Vampire a social security number and taxing us so maybe it’s not all good,” Christian chuckled.
“ID cards for Vampires that are legitimate? What will they think of next?” Grayson shook his head.
They had made their way into the clearing. Again, that heavy feeling filled Grayson’s chest. It was time. But time for what? He rubbed his hands together and turned to face his father’s ghost.
The clearing was just a triangle of clear land, about twenty by twenty feet. There were a few large boulders where he and Christian could sit. The red and blue moons could be seen through the branches that laced above them.
“Dad, Sam,” Grayson began. “I want to tell you both how thankful I am for your caring and love for me. I–”
“Wait. Let me just do this and they can speak to you as well as you to them,” Christian said.
He took out a large soul gem. It was a diamond. Clear and glittering. The center of it began to glow. Christian placed it on top of one of the boulders and there was a rush of energy that passed through Grayson. He let out a sigh and straightened up.
“Grayson,” his father said.
Grayson froze. He remembered that voice.
He’d heard that voice. For a moment, he remembered seeing his father in a doorway.
His father had been smiling. A grin from ear to ear.
He had on a suit and tie. The tie had been tugged undone and he’d set a briefcase down.
He’d clearly just come home from work. He swept into the room and picked Grayson up, swinging him around before bringing him against his broad chest.