Fallen
PART 4
After getting nothing of any use from the two human employees at ‘The Choirboy’, I decide to head home, and try to grab a couple of hours sleep before I start making stupid mistakes, and get myself killed. I need to talk to Keller again, and bring him up to speed on what I’ve found out, but he won’t be available until after sunset.
I drop into the precinct to grab my messages, and find a note from our chief C.S.I officer, Gloria Nathan, telling me that she’ll get the results from the club through as soon as possible since we’re now getting pressured by the ‘Regional Officer for Revenant Relations’, Agent Taylor, who thinks that this might be bad for human/vampire public relations. No shit, give the guy a medal.
I’m too tired to think about politics as I slip the key in the door of my apartment. Bad publicity really should be the last of our concerns right now, but pen pushing assholes the world over manage to make it a priority.
The sun is at its zenith as I draw the curtain and blot it out. I need a shower, and a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, and then I might be capable of handling another session with Keller.
As I strip off my clothes, I notice blood all over my pants and shoes. I’ve been walking around all day with splattered vampire on my clothes, and I never even noticed. What kind of a fucking job is this?
I reach for a bottle of Jack Daniels and pour myself a large one. It slips down my throat in one easy gulp, and the warmth spreads out like summer sunshine through my body, so I follow up with a couple more.
I cherish the moments of pleasure because they’re always followed by that self-loathing sensation that eats away at me every time I take a drink. It just serves to remind me of how fucking weak I am, and how much control the damn bottle has over me, even now.
I step into the shower, and try to scrub away the stench of death, but I soon realize that it’s not on the outside it’s deep within me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of the alarm clock wakes me from a fitful sleep. The dream I was caught in has left me covered in sweat, and sporting an embarrassing wake up hard-on. Embarrassing because I was dreaming about a fucking vampire.
A male vampire.
A naked male vampire.
Holy shit, how much worse can today get? No, don’t even think it Toby, you’re tempting fate.
I take a quick, cold shower and try to ignore the images still floating around just at the back of my eyes; images of Christopher Keller, leaning over me as I lie on the floor. He’s lifting me into his arms, and I’m letting him. He’s carrying me out of the dark, into a bedroom, with a huge four-poster bed, and silk sheets. I can feel the softness of the feather comforter as he lowers me into it, and strips off his soiled clothes, leaving him naked. Hard muscle ripples as he climbs on the bed, and leans in close to me.
“This won’t hurt,” he whispers, and suddenly I can feel him biting me, his slender fangs slipping effortlessly into my flesh. I want to cry out, but it feels so wonderful, and I feel so warm…
Oh my God. I’m dreaming Harlequin novels about a fucking vampire. I desperately need to get a normal job, and try harder to form less dysfunctional relationships.
It’s almost five p.m and I decide to head out to try to catch Gloria back at the station before Keller crawls from his coffin. Yeah, I know they don’t sleep in coffins, I’m just feeling twitchy and unsettled over my dream, and I’m blaming Keller for it.
The sun has slipped away behind dark rain clouds, and the air is heavy with the threat of a storm.
Everything about this damned case seems to be spiraling out of my control, and I feel so helpless to stop it. I suddenly develop the uncontrollable urge for a drink, but I somehow doubt that I’ll find one around here.
There’s something else too, I’ve worked around vamps for years, hunting them down and killing them, and now ‘protecting’ them, but I’ve never felt as deeply disturbed by one as I am by Keller, and I wonder if it’s some vamp trick he’s using? Maybe he’s hiding something and using me to cover his tracks? Mukada did say that he was dangerous after all. He also said he was ‘old’ but he doesn’t strike me as an old vamp. I met an old Master a few years ago, and you could almost sense his age, he exuded ancient power, plus the fact that his fashion sense seemed to be stuck in the twelfth century. But Keller, he’s a different brand of vamp altogether. I’d have pinned him as being no more than fifty or sixty vampire years old, and in human terms, in his mid thirties. Everything about him is modern and totally clued in to the 21st century, which is unusual for old vampires.
Oh yeah, the guy is an enigma all right.
I hit the station just as most of the nightshift is arriving. I’ve missed Gloria by seconds, but she’s left me a few preliminary results, although none of it really seems to make much sense.
I decide to catch up on a little paperwork before I head over to see Keller. I sit down at my desk, and open up the drawer to retrieve some paper for the printer. Sitting there, calling my name is a bottle of scotch, a gift from my grandmother last Christmas. I lift the bottle up and look at it, the deep brown liquid whispers such promises, that I begin to unscrew the top. What would it hurt, just to take one drink?
A little voice suddenly whispers, ‘You really want to face Keller when your mind’s numb with scotch?’ So I slip the bottle back into the drawer for another day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The club is just opening when I arrive, and I flash my badge at the new doorman. He’s less bulky than the old guy, but somehow he looks more dangerous. I get the idea that he’s older, and sharper, more able to spot trouble before it reaches the boss.
I’m directed downstairs to the office once again, and I get a déjà vu feeling until I walk inside the office.
I’m greeted by a woman who immediately thrusts out her hand towards me, “Hi, I’m Bonnie!” she beams.
“Tobias Beecher, I’m the Revenant Officer dealing with the incident here last night.” I shake her hand.
“Yeah, Chris said you’d be back, he said that I should do what I can to help you until he arrives. I’m sorry he can’t be here to greet you himself, as I’m sure you understand, he’s very busy, especially after the deaths last night.”
There’s something about her…she’s not vampire, I just know that, but she talks about Keller with a fondness, and a closeness that I haven’t encountered before.
“So, who are you, his secretary?” I give her my warmest and most charming smile.
She giggles like a schoolgirl, “No, I’m his human servant!” she chirps.
My blood runs cold; she’s his slave. I must speak volumes with the look on my face.
“Oh please, I know what you’re thinking, but you are so very wrong,” she laughs, “I chose to be his human servant, it’s a great honor, and it takes a lot of trust for a vampire to mark you, and make you his servant.”
“Right.”
She cocks her head like a Labrador, and looks at me like I’m a retarded fourth grader.
“You don’t know much about vampire lore, do you, Officer Beecher?” she asks, “I mean, not beyond how to destroy them?”
My pink cheeks answer the question for me.
“A vampire’s strength is determined by those around him. His children, the people he’s sired, but also the humans who work willingly to help him survive. Some volunteer as donors for the family to feed on, willing hosts so that hunting for blood is unnecessary. Some work as their daytime liaison with the outside world, and a very few, those who are most respected and trusted, they are ‘marked’ with a psychic bond to the Master vampire. One mark will allow you to look into his eyes unaffected, the second will give you strength beyond human endurance, but the third will allow you to share his thoughts and retain a little of his power and knowledge. Servants act as his daytime eyes and ears, and give him strength when he needs it. They’re also immune to his power, so as you can see, he pays a price if he makes you his servant, in that he can’t control you, he has to trust you.”
I look at this woman, and I do believe that she has utter faith in Keller. She’s fallen for his charm hook, line and sinker, and she really believes that she’s special to him.
“I know what’s going through your mind, ‘fat chick with low self esteem thinks she’s important to a vampire, equals deluded, but you’re wrong Officer Beecher, you’re very wrong.”
Damn it, she’s right, that’s exactly what I was thinking, but I guess that if being a vampires slave is her thing, who the hell am I to judge? My master’s name is Jack Daniels, and he doesn’t even kiss me goodnight.
“Chris wants to meet you in the vaults downstairs, will you follow me?” she says suddenly.
She opens a panel in the wall, and gestures for me to follow her down the stairs. I can’t help the feelings of trepidation that I still get when it comes to vampires, and the idea of voluntarily walking into the heart of a vampire domain still scares the shit out of me.
I shoot her another smile, and follow her down the stairs. Don’t vampire *ever* use decent fucking lighting? I stumble a couple of times yet she glides down the steps like a ballerina.
At the bottom, it spans out into a huge vault, and it takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust.
“Officer Beecher?” a voice echoes suddenly, and my flesh tingles.
“Mr Keller,” I reply, trying to get a grip before I embarrass myself.
“Thanks for coming back, I wondered if you would?”
“It’s my job, Mr Keller, I’m investigating a crime.”
He wanders from the shadows, flanked by two other men. One is the guy he called ‘Ronnie’, we met last night when he was kissing Keller all better after the attack. He’s about Keller’s height, but not as heavily built. Even in the dim light, I can see his pale eyes flashing resentment. The other, I haven’t seen before, he’s dark skinned, maybe Latino, and shifty looking.
“You two can go check out the club, make sure that everything is running to order,” Keller instructs his minions.
Ronnie shoots me a vicious look, “He’s armed,” he hisses.
Keller looks up at me, and a wide smile spreads across his face, “The good police officer won’t hurt me, will you Officer Beecher?” he asks.
“Not unless you try to hurt me first,” I return the smile.
“You see we already have an understanding. I think I’m safe, Ronnie, you go do your job.” Keller doesn’t take his eyes off me as the other two vampires file past me, snarling under their breath.
Suddenly he turns his attention to Bonnie. She moves forward, and he scoops her into his arms, kissing her roughly, and squeezing her to him.
“How’s my baby?” he mumbles.
She giggles and swats him away like an errant schoolboy, “Used to your bullshit,” she laughs.
“I said I was sorry for earlier, and it won’t happen again. Next time, I’ll listen to you,” he drawls.
She wags her finger at him, and scowls, “You’d darn well better. Now quit being rude, and tend to your guest. I’ll be in the office if you need me.”
As she walks away, he growls, “I always need you, baby, always!”
This makes her laugh, as she begins the long haul back up the stairs.
“What can I say?” he smiles, “She loves me!”
“So I see,” I reply, a little uncomfortably.
“I love her too, she’s very special.”
“Uh hu,” I try not to sound too insincere.
“You don’t like me much, do you Officer Beecher?”
“Is that required for the job?” I ask.
“I guess not.” His voice sounds almost…sad. “Anyway, down to business. What have you discovered?”
I go through all the things I’ve learned, and he listens intently. His face darkens when I mention the possibility that a Vodun priest was controlling the attacker.
“Voodoo scum,” he spits, “I should have known they’d be behind this!”
“Why Mr Keller, do they have a grudge against you?” I ask.
“You don’t understand my world, Officer Beecher,” he says a little distracted. Suddenly he stops pacing, and looks up at me. I try not to look into his eyes.
“Do I *have* to keep calling you ‘Officer Beecher’?” he asks. “We are working together after all.” He moves into my personal space with surprising speed.
“Can I call you Tobias?” he purrs, “Please?”
My skin prickles as he moves close in, and almost touches my arm with his body.
“I don’t think…” I begin, but the words don’t quite form in my throat.
“I’m just thinking that it might look better to both our peoples if we have a more ‘casual’ relationship in this?”
Against my better judgment, I find myself shrugging, “I guess. And it’s Toby. Only my mother calls me Tobias when I’ve done something scandalous that might shock the neighbors.”
“I’m glad to hear that you can be scandalous, Toby,” he smiles, and my knees go weak. “That’s great, Toby it is then! And you must call me Chris?”
“Okay,” I agree, “Since we’re on first name terms now, how about you tell me what the ‘library of Gil’Hamnan’ is?”
For a fleeting second his smile disappears. “Hmm,” he says eventually, “You’ve been talking to Mukada?”
This surprises me, and I almost deny it. “So, what is this library, and how can it help the investigation?”
“Come into my room, and have a drink, I’ll explain all about the library,” he says, and begins to lead the way.
The part of my brain that’s still functioning begins to scream at the idea of entering a vampire’s private chambers deep in the bowels of a vampire lair, but the little brain in my pants overrides everything else, and I fall into step beside him.