Chapter 18
The hollow feeling in Eli's chest was still there when he woke the next morning.
He spent a few minutes staring at the ceiling in his bedroom.
Maybe he could borrow a boat and row over to Fisherman's Lake.
He needed to talk to Joshua, and it wasn't fair to have him pay a fee to moor when it was Eli who needed the meeting.
With Ciar and Draven no longer hunting for him, he'd have to buy more meat from Fisherman's Lake. They'd made do before. It was only this last year that he'd had venison and wild boar. Before, all he'd had was beef and sometimes pork when he could get hold of it from Fisherman's Lake.
Throwing the cover off, he padded into the kitchen and froze.
On the kitchen table on a small plate was a cupcake. It didn't have any frosting, and it didn't look like a cupcake from Romeo's book since it had been baked in an old can, but it was close enough.
Had Thano been here? Was he here? “Thano?"
No reply.
Should he eat it? Cupcake, or maybe it was called a muffin when there wasn't any frosting, for breakfast. A smile stretched his lips before he could stop it.
“Thank you." He looked around. “If you're here." He put some water to boil before heading for the bathroom. When he reentered the kitchen, the cupcake was still there, and the room was still empty.
“Do you realize how creepy it is not knowing if you're here or not?
I feel like I'm being watched, but I'm not sure.
" And if he was alone, he was an idiot for talking out loud.
Would Thano hang around to watch him? Why would he?
On the other hand, why would he break into his house to place a cupcake on his kitchen table?
Maybe it wasn't Thano who'd been here.
“I was thinking I should try to get hold of Joshua. I need more meat now that Ciar and Draven can't sell their venison to me."
He made himself a cup of tea and reached for the cupcake.
“Okay, here we go." He tore a piece. It was sunshine-yellow and moist. It smelled sweet.
He popped a piece into his mouth and groaned.
“It would've been better with vanilla or lemon, I think.
Blueberries." He ate another piece. “It's good, but something to conquer the egg flavor. "
He sipped on his tea and ate more of the cupcake, muffin, whatever. He hadn't had any kind of cake in years. “You should put up a market stand off the paved road and sell these. Or trade, I guess." Though maybe they could trade it for money.
Right as he put the last piece into his mouth, there was a loud knock on his door. It didn't sound friendly, and he looked around the kitchen. “Are you here?" Fear slithered down his spine. “Thano, if you're here, please let me know."
The knock came again, and Eli went to open. His legs were unsteady as he reached the hallway and tried the lock only to find the door unlocked. Had Thano unlocked it somehow? Would he leave it unlocked when he left?
Eli's heart was blocking his throat as he opened the door. Outside was a flushed-looking Elijah. His eyes were wide and frantic. “Eli." He breathed his name as if he hadn't been sure he'd ever see him again.
“What's going on?"
“They've...eh...evicted you."
Eli stared. Evicted? He owned his house. It had been his mother's, and he was the only one who had inherited it. “Evicted?"
“It says...The notice says you have three days to clear out, and it was issued yesterday."
His words didn't make sense. “Clear out?
" No one could make him leave. Or he was sure they could, but not legally.
He owned the property--the house and the garden.
It was all his. He had the deed. Or the bank did.
Shit, they hadn't stolen his paper in the bank, had they?
What about his business? What would happen if they'd stolen his ledger?
Fear gripped him. It was Sunday. The bank was closed. He wouldn't be able to check any of his papers today.
Elijah looked pained. “I guess you can try to sell as much as possible. I'll buy as much as I can afford. I can stock up on dried goods. Ambrose will move out in two days, so maybe I can ask him to pay in advance."
Eli still couldn't make sense of his words.
“Where will he go?" It was the least important question right now, but part of him was glad to know he'd be out of Elijah's hair.
He didn't trust Sheriff Ambrose. He wasn't sure if he was behind everything that happened in Last Hope or if he was only the person who carried out the changes, but Elijah wouldn't stand a chance if Ambrose got him in his crosshairs.
“Don't know. He said he'd found an apartment.
" Elijah held out his hand, and Eli stared at it.
Then he realized he was trying to hand him a key--the shop key.
“Do you want me to help you carry things?
I've already served breakfast, so I don't need to be back at the hotel until it's time for me to start cooking lunch. "
Carry things? Carry them where? From where?
“Eli, there is a crowd. Maybe, if you open the shop, you can sell part of the stock. They're frightened about what this will mean, and while it's terrible to take advantage of people's fear, you only have two days to get rid of the inventory."
Open the shop.
Eli blinked. “The shop is being evicted?"
Elijah frowned. “Yes, I told you. There is an eviction notice on your door. It says you've fraternized with the enemy and have been evicted."
“What?" Was there a law about enemies?
Elijah looked pained. “I'm sorry."
“Can they do that?" They couldn't, right? Eli rubbed his neck. His hand shook, but he did his best to ignore it. “There is no law forbidding us to talk to the others. We don't because it most often means we'll die, but there is no law."
“I don't think it's about laws, I think since the board owns the building, they decide the rules." Elijah grimaced. “Larry Lawrence was killed yesterday, off the paved road."
The image of the female vampire attacking the man pointing a gun at Romeo's car flashed before his eyes. Had it been Larry? Must've been.
“I think the others are pissed, and I think we're gonna notice."
Eli nodded.
“The men working the border gate--"
“Since when do we have a border gate?" He'd gone through it, so he'd seen it with his own eyes, but it was so hard to take in.
“Since yesterday, I think. I'm not sure. I try not to leave the hotel unless I have to."
But he'd come here. Had come to tell Eli, to warn Eli, to help Eli.
“They said the body was dragged by something invisible."
The female vampire. “Vampire."
“Can they really turn invisible? I believed they moved so fast we couldn't see them, but not that they...disappeared."
“They don't disappear. They're there, you can touch them, hear them talk." Eli looked around and lowered his voice. “Thano? Are you here?"
The air flickered, and Eli's heart sped up as joy washed over him, but it wasn't Thano who appeared next to him on the doorstep. It was Emeric. “Do you want me to get him?"
Elijah was gaping.
“No, no need to bother him. I'm sure he's busy." His heart cracked into tiny pieces as he spoke.
Emeric's expression gave nothing away. “No one has been in your shop. Thano said to hunt down anyone who broke in. No one has broken in."
Eli shouldn't have felt warmth over his words, but he did. Thano might not be here, but he was looking out for Eli in his own weird way. “Thank you, Emeric."
“Vampires and crows are patrolling the wasteland between Last Hope and the ranch. If you need to step outside the border, call out and say you're Eli the shopkeeper."
Emeric glanced at Elijah. “If you say you're the hotel owner, you might live, but it depends on who reaches you first."
Elijah gulped. “I'll...eh...I'll hide in the hotel. I think it's safest."
Emeric frowned. “It depends on who else is in the hotel."
Fuck. Fear washed over Eli. If the others would do anything, they'd most certainly go after the sheriff. “Eh...Could you wait two days?"
Emeric frowned. “You want me to wait here for two days? Thano told me to guard the shop. I only followed--" He pointed a thumb at Elijah. “--since he read the note and more or less ran here."
“No, I meant, if you're gonna attack. Can you wait two days? Then the sheriff won't be in the hotel, and Elijah should be safe hiding there."
Emeric looked at Elijah again. “We don't plan an attack. We're guarding the border as they are guarding the border. The leaders agreed. We'll leave the humans to destroy themselves while keeping ourselves safe."
Eli didn't know how much more his body could take. Nausea rolled over him. “What about Fisherman's Lake?"
Emeric shrugged. “If they're smart, they'll too guard their border toward Last Hope."
“But...People in Last Hope will starve."
There wasn't an ounce of compassion on Emeric's face. “They closed down your only grocery store. The board wants you to starve."
Did they? No, they had to be acting out of ignorance. Making the people starve would mean making themselves starve, and no one wanted that.
“I'll let you get on with your day." Emeric bowed, and then he was gone.
Elijah looked around. “Is he gone?"
“Don't know." Though if his job was to guard the shop, he'd most likely gone there. “Do you think they want us to starve?"
Elijah shrugged. “I think you should get the fuck out while you can."
* * * *
Thano was watching the men guarding the road into Last Hope. They were strutting around like Eli's two roosters did in the chicken coop. Romeo had said he shouldn't let them out yet. Give it another day, so they'd know where they live.
Did the humans think guns would save them? breed weren't immortal, but they were stronger, faster, and harder to kill. And the punishment they'd mete out if the humans tried to take them out would be severe.
Thano dropped the shadows, curious about what would happen when they spotted him.
It took a few seconds before they did. One of the men turned, saw him, and stiffened.
He raised his gun, and the other followed suit.
When a couple of seconds went by without anyone pulling the trigger, Thano was almost disappointed.
He wanted to rip their throats out. Wanted to punish them for making Eli think he needed to be here instead of with Thano. Last Hope didn't deserve him.
He gathered the shadows again.
“Thano." Emeric's voice sounded next to him.
“Aren't you guarding the shop?"
“Darcia is there. The paper is an eviction note. Eli has two days to remove all his things from the shop. People are panicking."
“Eli?"
Silence stretched. “I don't know him well enough to say if he's panicking or not. Shocked, I think. The hotel owner is helping him."
“Elijah." Oh, look at that, Thano had finally learned his name.
“Yes. Eli asked us to keep him safe."
“Safe?"
He could sense Emeric shrugging even if he couldn't see it.
“He wanted us not to attack the hotel, should we attack, and he asked us to wait two days because then the sheriff wouldn't be there anymore."
Eli believed the sheriff was the biggest problem then. “A lot of things can happen in two days."
“Mmm. I wonder if the sheriff finding somewhere to stay in two days is linked to Eli having to leave the shop in two days."
Thano nodded, though Emeric wouldn't be able to see him. Silence stretched.
“He called for you."
Warmth rushed his chest, and Thano looked in the direction of Emeric's voice. “What?"
“When Elijah told him about the eviction note, he called your name. I showed myself thinking maybe he wanted to tell you something."
“Did he?"
“Nothing he told me."
Thano ached to go to him. He'd watched him sleep.
He'd picked his lock and left the cupcake for him to find, but he hadn't been able to walk away without seeing him.
He hadn't looked as peaceful as he had when Thano had slept next to him.
Maybe he'd had a bad dream. His fingers still tingled with the need to touch him, but he'd forced himself not to.
“I'll check the shop."
“I'm heading home. I need some rest."
“Okay, see you later."
Thano walked past the guards. He could've shadow walked, but it amused him to slip right by them without them having a clue.
He walked in the middle of the road toward the shop.
People were milling about, and there was a panicked energy in the air.
Thano would do what Eli asked for a few days, but if he was eating any less than he already was, Thano would bring him back to the ranch.
Kidnapping was okay when it was in the victim's best interest. Thano would tie him to the bed like he should've done in the first place.
Eli was his.
When he reached the shop, the door was jammed open, and people were pushing to get to the items they wanted.
A man was seated outside on one of those folding stools Emeric had described with a shotgun resting across his lap.
Thano couldn't get into the shop without being jostled.
He was sure people would panic if they touched him without seeing him, and he couldn't drop the shadows without some idiot trying to shoot him. He couldn't risk a bullet hitting Eli.
Maybe the crowd would thin soon.
Through the large window, he could see Elijah standing next to Eli behind the counter. It made him want to snarl. Elijah was beautiful in an almost feminine way. He wouldn't be mistaken for a female, but he was...pretty, and it was clear Eli cared about him. Thano didn't like it.
A woman came scurrying along the street, a basket jostling on her arm with each step she took, and fear was stark on her face. Thano had seen her before. He believed she might have a stand on the square on market days. Knitware, maybe.
When she noticed the crowd outside the shop, she slowed, and her shoulders slumped.
Thano stepped back until he stood in the shadows of the house across the street and adopted a relaxed pose. He could see the entrance from there, could see Eli through the window.
* * * *