Epilogue
April looked at Sonya with new admiration. The older woman was strong and stoic. Even now as she calmly packed her suitcase, ready to move on. Her motions were graceful, her chin high and her eyes bright with promise.
Despite the horrors of the previous night, Sonya was as fresh as a daisy. She was everything April aspired to be.
These past weeks with her had been eye opening in so many ways. Sonya had shown her a whole new side of the world she lived in.
Her father, while open to the world, had nonetheless sheltered her.
He’d allowed her to see, to know that there were dangers out there, but in a safe and restrained manner.
She’d been trained to slay vampires and fight evil, without ever really thinking that the day would come when she would need that training.
With her eyes on Sonya’s every move, April thought of her slip up the day before; the word had escaped her mouth before she could even think of it. Mom. Was it simply a natural cry considering the circumstance? She’d heard of men at war crying out for their mother.
Or could it be a growing maternal bond between them that had her slipping up that way?
She wondered if Sonya had heard the call at all. If she had, she didn’t mention it. If she had, did it offend her. If she had, was she pleased?
“What do we do now?” she said as she handed Sonya a folded pink cardigan sweater.
Sonya took the cardigan, unfolded it and examined it with a critical eye. “I haven’t worn this in a while. Would you like it?”
April looked at the sweater and smiled. It was a lovely shade of pink, a shade that suited her skin tone perfectly. “I’d love it.”
“Here you go.”
“Dad didn’t let me pack up much when we left home,” April said, taking the sweater and holding it up to her chest.
“He didn’t let you pack much?” Sonya said in a mocking tone. “You forget that I saw the suitcase you arrived here with. I bet you have more than I do.”
They laughed, and she enjoyed the sense of release, however momentary it might turn out to be.
But her unanswered question remained with her. “What are we going to do now?”
“With the studio gone, we have no choice but to leave.”
April nodded. She and her father had already emptied the bungalow they’d just moved into. They’d not even had the time to unpack.
“Where will we go?”
“We’ll find a place, somewhere close enough to a major city, but far enough to have a good buffer zone around the house.”
“Does that mean we’ll all live together?”
Sonya smiled. “We’ll discuss that with your father.”
“I hope we do. It only makes sense.”
“I happen to agree with you. This war isn’t over, not by a long shot. And we can’t fight alone. We’ll need reinforcement. We need an army.”
“Right,” April muttered without conviction, her mind already elsewhere.
“Don’t worry, April. Everything will be fine. We’ll gather up enough people. I have no doubt.”
“I guess.”
“Are you all right? What’s really on your mind?”
“I wanted to say...” April hesitated, not sure she wanted to bring up the matter. “Yesterday, during all the fighting...”
“Yes?” Sonya clipped her suitcase shut.
“In all the excitement. In all the action. All that noise. All the shouting. It was all so chaotic.”
“It was. That’s how fighting often is. It’s easy to lose your way and know what your next move should be.”
“I think that in all the mixed emotions, I... I cried out Mom. I hope you weren’t offended. I didn’t mean to...”
Sonya looked at her, smiling but visibly pained. “Why would I be offended? It’s quite natural to call out for one’s mother when in crisis. It happens all the time.”
“Okay. Good. I just wanted to be sure... you know... that it was okay.” She looked down at Sonya’s closed suitcase. “I mean, in a way, you are the closest thing to a mother that I’ve ever known.”
“It pleases me to hear that, April.” She grabbed the handle of the suitcase and hoisted it off the bed. “Now, let’s get a move on.”
April watched her walk out of the room, a sense of emptiness taking over her. She had hoped to talk more about their relationship, but... maybe another time.
“Are you coming, April?” Sonya called from the hall.
She left Sonya’s bedroom and met her and her father out on the front porch. The lingering smell of burnt buildings was strong, reminding her of the night they’d spent fighting.
World Unified Studios; it wasn’t just a front for some Russian spy. It was the cover for an ancient vampire’s coven with a Russian spy as a decoy.
In the hours since the fighting ended, she’d learned more about the bloodsucking world and its connection to various aspects of the entertainment industry.
Producers and directors had blood on their hands.
Casting directors had a particularly horrifying part, recruiting young, impressionable men and women looking for fame.
“If all of California is infested with these beasts...” Dr. Ang shook his head, unable to finish his thought.
“I know,” Sonya said. “It seems like an impossible task, but we have to start somewhere.”
“Yes, one coven at a time,” April said, suddenly feeling so much older than her years. “We go out there and take them down, one by one.”
*****
Sonya Song and April’s story will continue in Book 3 of the Mysterious Teacher Series.