Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (63 page)

Looking earnestly at him she said “They are
soon going to know that they lost a vampire tonight and that at
least one is here with Washington too.”

Cosette came to the foyer following the
butler, an inquisitive look on her face as she smiled saying “Good
morning, Lucas. How can I help you?”

“Good morning, Cosette. I came to beg a
favor.” She merely raised her eyebrows inquisitively so he
continued “We have found another body and I wondered if you and
Stuart would look at it.”

“Whatever for?”

“I… I hoped you might… you know… you might
remember something since the last time this happened.”

“Stuart is taking Rebecca to the waterfront
to buy fish this morning. We could come by if you’ll tell me where
the body is. But I don’t know what we can tell you.”

“Our medical examiner looked at it and there
was massive bruising about the torso, on the ribs on the back of
the corpse. It looked as if something had held the victim so
tightly as to bruise him. It was something quite strong because
this was a large muscular young man.”

“Were there bite marks?”

“Yes. They were identical to the other
victim and there was hardly any blood in the victim either.”

“You have the expertise of a medical
examiner, and yet you want our input? Pray tell me why that is,
sir.”

Stepping closer, he lowered his voice and
said “I don’t in any way suspect either of you, Cosette. I have
heard of creatures… beings that… creatures that drink blood and are
very strong. I… I saw you and Stuart looking at each other the last
time you saw that man. You know… the man we found near this
house.”

“Mr. Ross, what are you trying to tell
me?”

“I think that maybe a vampire is killing
people in New York City.”

The grandfather clock ticked the seconds
away as a crow outside called raucously while Cosette looked calmly
at Lucas with her exquisitely beautiful gray eyes. She said “Do you
know what you sound like right now, Deputy Ross?”

“Please, Cosette. Don’t be offended. I… I
just have never seen anything like this and I hoped that maybe you
and Stuart might have seen a similar thing before and maybe you…
maybe you just do not want to share that with… with anyone else if
you know what I mean.”

“Deputy Ross, I wouldn’t be talking about
this to anyone else if I was in your place. People will think that
you are daft, and that can’t help the career of any lawman. I’m not
speaking for Stuart, but I’ll go with you to see this thing if you
promise me something.”

“Yes, I’ll promise you if it is something I
can do.”

“Very well, Deputy Ross. I really like the
people in this house and I really like Laura Millhouse very much. I
think you do too. So for her sake, I’ll look at the body and you’ll
never speak of this again. I don’t want her to be embarrassed by
being connected to someone who may someday be publicly accused of
being delusional.”

He stood then, looking at her as he thought
I can keep that promise easily enough. Who else can I even speak
with about this?
“Very well, Cosette. We have a bargain.”

***

June Stedman, Grundy, Yvonne, Stefan and
Priscilla sat together in the parlor of the Stedman home. “Lester
is dead? How is that possible” asked Yvonne in shock.

June sobbed for a bit, her arms wrapped
tightly about herself as she rocked to and fro “I tried to talk him
out of it, but he wouldn’t listen. He just had to do it and he was
so certain that he could succeed and now he is dead! My God! My
husband is dead, all because you made us into vampires!”

She stood then, her tear-stained face
twisted in anger as she said “My Lester would be alive today if not
for you, Yvonne. Why couldn’t you just have left us alone? Why did
we have to be a part of your precious coven?”

Priscilla came to her then and put her arms
about her saying “Oh June! I am so sorry! This is just terrible!”
She held her then as the woman sobbed uncontrollably. After a bit
she said “Yvonne warned us all not to do anything that would expose
ourselves. She did it for our own good, June. There, there now. Oh
June… there, there now. Lester just didn’t know that the Americans
have vampires on their side too. Why, he was trying to do the right
thing for our gracious King. He just didn’t have enough information
before he acted. I’m sure that Yvonne and the rest of us would have
been glad to go with him and take Washington’s head had he only
asked. We have to bind ourselves together now and stay strong.
Isn’t that what Lester would want?”

“Oh, yes, June. We all would have been glad
to sit down and make a foolproof plan had we only known” said
Yvonne, taking her cue from Priscilla.

Leading her to the sofa Priscilla said
“June, if you can bear to, please sit here with me and tell us what
went wrong, dear.”

June got herself under control and blew her
nose several times, finally saying “We found the Army at Valley
Forge, in Pennsylvania. We had bought two big bags of produce in
Philadelphia and carried them to Valley Forge. It was easy to elude
the pickets and we disguised ourselves as farmers bringing in
produce to donate to the cause. About dusk we had given our produce
to the supply officer and we simply hid ourselves in a large
lean-to that the rebels built for a stable.”

“So you were going to do what, kill him
after dark?”

“Yes. Lester and I both had sabers. We were
going to overpower the sentries and cut off his head. We knew that
the two of us could get through a few guards easily enough and we
knew we could easily run away in the dark and that they couldn’t
hope to catch us.”

“That sounds like it could work, and it
would be a strong blow against the rebels for our king.” said
Yvonne, looking directly at Priscilla, who nodded her approval.

“Oh my yes” said Priscilla. “What went
wrong, June?”

“Washington came riding past the stable
where we were hidden and Lester decided to just do it there. We
never thought we could get that close with no one standing between
us as when we saw him riding past.”

“Why it sounds like Lester did the right
thing, taking advantage of him being that close and unguarded I
mean, doesn’t it Yvonne”

“What? Oh yes, yes! I would have done the
same thing. What went wrong, dear?”

“That damned vampire saw Lester when he went
to jump Washington and he jumped and collided with Lester in
midair.”

Yvonne became rigid and said “Another
vampire?”

June said “Yes. He was just outside of the
stable.”

Stefan said “So he was armed too then?”

“No. He only had a knife. It… it was just…
just unbelievable what happened. He… he flung that knife so fast
and I heard it hit poor Lester and he cried out. That damned
vampire dodged Lester’s saber easily and…and rushed him and bowled
him over; and they rolled and suddenly this damned vampire came out
on top, and broke poor Lester’s sword arm and then stomped his head
to mush! Oh it was awful! I could hear the bones break and poor
Lester screaming for the pain!”

“Oh June! You don’t have to relive it.”

“No, I want to tell it. Lester dropped his
saber and… and I came and struck him… struck him across the
shoulder. I was aiming for his neck but he somehow knew I was
coming up behind him! He…he ducked down so fast, and I nearly
missed him! That vampire fought like a devil from hell! I will
never forget that… those pale blue eyes glowing at me! Who could
take a saber away from another vampire that easily and kill
him?”

Yvonne gasped as she covered her mouth with
one hand, her green eyes blazing hatred and surprise as she
realized who June was describing.

Priscilla said “We saw Lester use a saber
here. He was excellent with one.”

“Yes. My Lester was very skilled with a
saber. He was big and really strong, and yet this vampire took it
away from him so fast I… I did not dream that anyone could fight
like that, even a vampire. He is a devil I tell you… a devil! He
kicked me so hard that I flew through the air so far… I… I did not
think I would ever come down and he broke some of my ribs too. Oh
Priscilla, it was just awful! It hurt so badly! I ran away as fast
as I could, but I kept thinking he was going to catch me and kill
me too!”

Priscilla hugged June and comforted her
then, saying “What an ordeal! Oh you poor thing!” Looking at
Yvonne, Priscilla saw that the shock and realization had changed to
pure hatred as her green eyes glowed brightly like two emeralds. At
that moment Yvonne was reliving the time years ago when Ian had
kicked her clear across a large room to land in a fire and she
remembered the pain of the broken sternum and ribs vividly. Stefan
sat rigidly next to her, eyes blazing as well. Priscilla thought
June saw Ian McCloud and Yvonne knows it! That has to be it.
Look at them!

Grundy got to his feet, his eyes a blazing
shade of topaz as he stalked toward the women, taking a seat nearer
them as he, Stefan, and Yvonne stared at each other, eyes glowing
brightly.

The three walked down into the earth-covered
cellar of the Barstow Ice Company’s storage area. Ice from the
smaller streams nearby was cut and harvested all winter long and
stored below ground in piles of sawdust. The temperature in the
place stayed around forty degrees in the hottest part of the summer
and now in November it was around twenty five degrees. The
Sheriff’s office of New York City had prevailed upon the good Mr.
Barstow to allow them to store cadavers there from time to time
when suspected crimes were being investigated.

Cosette followed Mr. Barstow and Deputy Ross
through the narrow aisles between the cakes of Ice, now nearly gone
having been used up in the warmer months by the meat and fishing
industries. Their feet crunched on the gravel path as steam came
from their nostrils. Cosette, remembering her earliest vampire
training by Marie, made herself breathe rhythmically in order to
appear to be human as they walked through the gloomy interior with
three oil lamps. They came to a place where there were good sized
stacks of ice cakes covered in sawdust, and shortly the two men
moved enough of it to slide a corpse out of the stack. The body was
covered with a sheet and its pants were still on as well, but the
torso was bare.

Barstow and Ross stood aside as she bent
near to look at his back, all of them holding their oil lamps near
for light. She nodded then and the two of them turned the body over
and again she bent to peer at the corpse, looking intently at the
neck wound. Straightening, she looked at Ross and nodded, stepping
back. The two shoved the large plank with its body back into the
stack of ice cakes and Mr. Barstow turned, walking away.

When he had left the room, Cosette said “The
bite marks look like they are human, Deputy Ross. And the bruising
on his back is severe. He looks like he was crushed and bitten on
the throat, like you said. Maybe both things didn’t happen at the
same time though.”

“Those bruises suggest that it all happened
at the same time. They are where one man would grab and hold
another in a bear-hug” he said, looking intently at her thinking
come now, Cosette. Open up and tell me what you know. I just
know that you know something about this…

She turned then and began to walk toward the
entrance hatch, Deputy Ross following her. They went up the steps
then and she took her sun glasses hanging from her neck on a golden
chain and put them on. They walked to the carriage where Ross
assisted her to climb in. Standing there with the carriage door
still open, he put one foot on the step and with both hands on
sides of the door opening and said “So that is all that you have to
say about it, Cosette? Really?”

She removed her sun glasses inside of the
carriage then, her lovely gray eyes fastened on his and he suddenly
felt as if she could look right through him. “Shall I solve your
crime for you, Deputy Ross? Do I know the guilty party?”

“Now Cosette, I told you that you’re not a
suspect, nor is anyone in the Millhouse residence. But I can’t help
but think that you have some insight concerning this affair.”

She turned and looked out the opposite
window for a bit and then she sighed and turned to him, leaning
toward him a bit she lowered her voice and said “You have no idea
what you are dealing with here, Deputy Ross. I have come to regard
the Millhouses and Rebecca Davis all as dear friends. In fact
Lucas, I like you too, truly. For their sakes as well as your own,
my advice concerning this affair is to drop it and stay as far from
it as you can.”

Lowering his voice too he said “So you do
have some… what… knowledge of this type of thing?”

Keeping her eyes riveted on his, she nodded
slightly as she spoke in a barely audible voice “I know of people
who have died just because they saw one of these creatures, and I
know for a fact Lucas that many have died simply because they
discovered that they do exist. You, I, Rebecca, Stuart, and the
Millhouses are even now in danger. I have seen this happen before.
Your persistence in this matter will only make that danger
greater.” She straightened herself in her seat, saying “I have
lived up to my part of our bargain” Raising her voice she said
“Driver, please take me back to the fish market.” as she kept her
unique eyes riveted on his.

Lucas stepped back, closing the carriage
door and watched it clattering up the cobblestone street from the
ice house, thinking
you kept your part of our bargain Cosette,
but how is it that you know so much about these… creatures?

***

Arnaud Moreau pulled up the collar of his
greatcoat as he walked along the wharf at Amsterdam. He spied the
vessel he sought just ahead in the blowing snow, her name
Greta
Van der Slattenoever
stood out in stark white
lettering against the black of her hull. The porter behind him
spoke in Dutch saying “That is your ship sir” as he pulled the cart
with two goats behind him.