Chapter 7 #2
“It just feels skeevy,” she said. “I don’t trust whoever put up that flier but I can’t tell you why.”
My stomach sank. Though we didn’t know for certain, a lot of unresolved issues could be solved through Mark being turned into a vampire. Afterward, chances were he wouldn’t care that much about his wife—especially if he was already interested in playing with the fanged ones.
“I’ll ask Lazenti for his opinion,” I said, tossing the watch and flier back in my backpack. “Carson’s looking into the temple. We barely found a mention of them on the internet, but when he went into the Dark Web, well…he came up with some oddities.”
“Kyann, sometimes the obvious answer is the right answer. I have the sense that Mark might have been overly interested in vampires for awhile.”
“You know,” I said, “His wife said that he’s been searching for something to give his life meaning for a long time—since he was a child.
That he couldn’t seem to find it inside.
There are vampires who play on that vulnerability.
Maybe the group just gave him something to cling to for a while.
I’ll call Lazenti later,” I added. “Meanwhile, you want to watch some TV?”
She shook her head. “No, actually. I think I’ll meditate and go to bed. For some reason, the whole mess with this guy has just depressed me. I do think that you’re right—that it could be a case of someone just wanting immortality or power…It’s too bad he couldn’t find his way on his own, though.”
I stood, ready to go take a shower and go to bed early. “Yeah. And his wife seems so nice. I almost hope we can’t find an answer, because this would be a slap in the face to her.”
“Or it would be closure. Closure’s underrated, even when it hurts,” Penn said. “Anyway, goodnight. I fed Mr. Crumbles when I fed the cats so I’ll see you in the morning.”
And with that, we said good night and I went to take a shower. But I lay in bed a long time before I could get to sleep, as the thunder and lightning continued into the night. Finally, when I did fall asleep, even my dreams were restless.
* * *
Morning came and with it, Penn was smiling again. The Fae weathered depression better than most humans, and she identified more with her Fae nature than the human side. She had made breakfast—maple muffins with bacon in them, along with eggs and sausages.
She handed me a plate, as I made a quad shot latte. “Here, breakfast.”
“Thanks,” I said, emptying the milk carton. As I waited for the espresso machine to heat, I peeked outside.
The storm had moved on, leaving a clear day for us to enjoy.
The air felt clear, energized by the lightning.
I glanced at the side yard where Penn had created a kitchen garden, along with a patch for her herbs and both were thriving.
Everything was burgeoning out. The tomato plants hung heavy with the pale orange globes, and soon we’d be eating fresh tomatoes.
Lettuce and cucumbers and pumpkins were also growing, and the dwarf apple tree she’d planted was covered with fruit.
Everything felt alive, and it was a comfort against the bleakness of last night’s conversation.
“So, you going to talk to Wendy today?” She sat at the table with her breakfast.
I shrugged, joining her. “Maybe. But first, I want to talk to Lazenti, and then check out a few things before I approach her with the idea that he might have been turned. I swear to hell, if I have to tell Wendy that her loving husband decided he wanted to waltz into life as a vampire, I’m going to hunt him down and stake him myself for being such an asshole. ”
“Sounds good to me,” Penn said.
I stirred my latte. “Hey, when are we going shopping? It looks like Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard in the fridge. We’re out of milk, too.”
“I can go later today. I’ll stop at the Shopmart. Do you want anything special or out of the ordinary?” She yawned, then began making a grocery list. The Shopmart wasn’t nearly as exciting as it sounded, but it was new, close, and they had a decent selection of foods.
“Not really. Standard stuff. Just the usual, though if you could get some fresh berries and bananas, I’d be up for fruit salad soon.”
She added it to the list. Then, pausing, she said, “You’re meeting your father for dinner tonight, right?”
“Yeah, and Vaurice. I’m not looking forward to it, but what can I do? I’m committed to this and I just have to let it play out. At least I’ll have time to get dressed after work. Are you going to be home?”
She shook her head. “I was planning on stopping by the library this evening, so I might not be home before you leave. If not, then tomorrow morning be prepared to tell me everything!”
“Will do! Have a good day,” I said. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out.
As I slid into my car, it occurred to me that my brother and father would surely notice the difference in energy.
But maybe embracing my demonic heritage might actually help.
I might be able to convince them easier.
I felt more sure in myself, and that could only help lay the groundwork for my deception even further.
On the way to work, I passed by a new building site. I stopped at the light next to it—it had just turned red—and took a moment to glance over at the massive sign. It was fated to be Skylark Towers, a Vampire Collective Community.
Well, that was new. There were a few vampire safe places to live above ground in Seattle, but this looked like a full scale community. Of course, it wouldn’t have the windows required for egress that houses did, so nobody alive could live there, but apparently zoning laws for vamps were different.
I made a note to mention the complex to Lazenti, in case he might be interested, then let up on the brake as the light turned green.
Traffic was unusually light this morning, and I reached the office a good ten minutes earlier than usual.
I parked and headed into the building, dashing up the stairs.
“Good morning,” I said, stopping beside Sophia’s desk.
She stared at me as though I’d grown another head. “You’re cheerful this morning.”
“Not really, but for once I got enough sleep and didn’t have any nightmares.” I took the mail she handed me and thumbed through it. Nothing important, so I dropped it in my backpack to deal with later. “Meeting at eight-fifteen, promptly,” I said, then headed toward my office.
Once we were gathered around the table, I started off as we usually did, by asking everybody how they were. I found that a little bit of interest helped jog people out of their heads and got them to participate.
Orik yawned. “The twins—the babies—are loud. I swear, they have the healthiest lungs I’ve ever heard. The other four weren’t this loud when they were babies.”
“Well, you know…every kid’s different,” Sophia said.
“Yeah, but…” The massive Viking sighed. “I got four hours of sleep last night, between their screaming, and Hilda’s swearing when she stubbed her toe on the dresser. We exchange nights, in terms of getting up with them, and last night was her night.”
“You love it, and you know it. We’ve watched you through three sets of twins now, and you always seem the happiest when Hilda’s brought more baby lumps into the world,” Carson said. He grinned. “How are Hilda and the kids doing?”
Orik shrugged, but grinned. “She’s doing fine. How that woman manages to have what energy she does after giving birth is a mystery. The children are all fine. Altogether, life is good. Knock wood,” he added, reaching out to rap his knuckles on the table.
“Good, good,” I said. “Sophia?”
She snorted. “Good as I can be. Everything’s fine. The dogs are doing well, even that shih tzu that I adopted from…what was his name?”
“Terrance?” I asked. I still felt guilty about that, but Coco had a great home, and Sophia treated her like royalty.
“Before you ask, I’m fine, though Maya’s got a cold,” Carson said.
His sister had moved up to Seattle and was living with their grandfather.
“But I haven’t been around her since before she caught it, so everything should be good to go.
” He paused, then said, “By the way, I dug up some more info on the Tetrachordian Temple that you might be interested in hearing.”
“Right,” I said. “First, Dante, you good to go today?”
“I’m good to go,” he said.
“Me too. Tonight’s my dinner with my father and brother, though, and I’m not looking forward to that.
But everything should be fine.” I didn’t feel like telling them what had happened to me with Hecate—it didn’t make much difference, anyway, although I’d probably tell Dante later.
“Okay, I have a theory about Mark Ryle, but Carson, let’s hear what you found first.”
Carson brought up his notes on his laptop. “The Tetrachordian Temple has been around for awhile. They’re a very small cult with little known about them. Their leader—Erik Sangale—supposedly channels a spirit guide, Erithkalia. She’s known as the “Mother” of the group.”
“Who founded the temple?” I asked.
“That’s also interesting. Erik Sangale founded it. Over one hundred years ago.”
I blinked. “But…he can’t be human, then.”
“Right, either that or he’s got one hell of a health routine.
What’s also odd is that cults like this usually fizzle out or rise, they seldom just stay small like the temple has.
But apparently all members abide by the Mother’s teachings.
” Carson shook his head. “They have some freaking weird beliefs, but I guess no stranger than a number of organizations.”
“Like what?” Dante asked.
“I’ve only been able to find a few. Apparently they believe that there will be an event similar to the apocalypse or Ragnarok in the ‘near’ future.
It’s always the near future, regardless of what cult you’re examining.
Anyway, the members of the temple will rise to power once the old order is thrown down.
Same old stuff as most other cults. And initiation to be a full member costs twenty-five thousand dollars. ”
I thought. “Twenty-five thousand. Mark took twenty-five thousand out of their bank.” Which swayed me more toward the temple being responsible, instead of a vampire.
“Have any other people who belonged to the temple been reported as missing?”
“It’s hard to say. Apparently the most devout disciples quit their jobs and devote their lives to the temple and the Speaker.
” Carson shook his head. “Usually, it’s easy to find people who’ve split off from groups like this.
Often, we can get them to talk about the secrets of the cult.
But here…no. I can’t seem to find any ex-members. That seems suspect in itself.”
“Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice said.” Sophia tapped her pen on the table. “Does the temple have a presence on the Dark Web?”
Carson cleared his throat. “Well, there’s another oddity.
The temple doesn’t seem to have an official website.
Most of the mentions of it that I’ve found are people looking for loved ones who joined the temple and vanished.
In almost every case, they stole money before they disappeared.
Then there was the site that Kyann and I found, in a language that can’t be translated. ”
I stared at the series of links he’d accumulated. There weren’t many, but that most of the mentions were from family members searching for their loved ones was one big fat red flag.
“Well, something’s going on for sure,” I said. “Anything else?”
When Carson said no, I took a deep breath and said, “There’s another possibility that Penn and I came up with. She did some psychometry on his watch and the flier. We think that there’s a possibility that Mark’s been turned into a vampire.”