In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-5 (29 page)

“
Oh, fuck both of you!” Vanora stomped past them, her flip-flops squelching wetly along the cement.

Darting around her, Armando opened the door to the house. He smelled delicious. Vanora glared at him instead of taking another sniff.

“Shut up, Armando.”

“
I didn’t say anything.”

“
Haven’t you said enough already?”

“
I’m just pleased you’re not wasting your time with ridiculous boys at school. They’re not worthy of you,” Armando said, suddenly quite serious.

“
And who is?” Vanora stared into his eyes defiantly.

Dark lashes hooding his eyes, Armando glanced toward Rhonda, who was busy drying her hair and trying to catch up.

“Who
is
?” Poking him in the chest with one finger, Vanora waited for an answer.

“
Not me,” Armando said at last.

“
You’re damn right,” Vanora said, her heart hurting, but not allowing herself to fall apart. “Come on, Rhonda. Armando has somewhere to be.”

Rhonda brushed past Armando, giggling.

Vanora shut the door in his face.

“So, what’s she like?” Roman asked, trying not to sound irritated even though he was. Sitting on the brocade sofa in the library, his fingers plucked at a frayed thread on the armrest.

Armando shrugged. “Any teenage girl.”

“That’s not very specific.” Roman frowned. He knew he was being overly protective of Vanora, but he couldn’t help himself. His sister was determined to move to Austin and at some point live with her best friend, Rhonda. Roman hadn’t seen Rhonda since she was ten. He remembered her as a precocious child that was a bit boy crazy. The constraints on his life chaffed at him at times like these.

Studying the tomes on a bookshelf, Armando answered, “She’s a pretty girl, a bit flirty, outgoing, and is loyal to Vanora. Protective even.”

“You figured this out after ten minutes?”

Turning, Armando smirked. “I’m a quick study. Besides, I’ve lived long enough to have a certain understanding about women.”

“They’re girls. Young girls.”

“
They’re women. Young women. In another age, they would both be married and with children.”

Roman’s frown deepened. “Well, in this age, they’re still young. Vanora has a lot of living to do before she settles down, gets married, has a family, a career…”

Drawing a book off the shelf, Armando flipped it open to look at the copyright page. “A first edition. Very nice.” After a long pause, he said, “Who is to say Vanora wants all those things. Isn’t she going to inherit money at some point? What if she decides to live a life of leisure? Travel the world?”

With a shrug, Roman slid to his feet to prowl around the room. He felt like a caged animal since he was unable to leave the library. Vanora and Alisha had promised to keep Rhonda out of this area of the house. Glancing at his watch, he wondered how long it would be before Rhonda departed.

“Roman, I realize that you want a certain life for Vanora, but she may choose another road to travel.” Armando returned the book to the shelf and selected another.

“
I wanted her to stay here, you know,” Roman admitted. “Attend college in Houston and live at home. It was Alisha who insisted we should encourage her to leave. That living here with us may not what’s best for her anymore. There is so much for her to do and experience away from us. Yet…”

“
You want to protect her.”

“
Yes.” Roman glanced out the window toward the mausoleum. “I also want her to have the life Alisha and I cannot. To live in the light, not the darkness. To find love.”

“
You can find love, Roman.” Armando faced Roman. “Vampires do love. Some vampires stay together for centuries, only parted by death. Does being what you are diminish how you feel for your sisters?”

Shaking his head, Roman sighed. “If anything, I feel like I love them more. Like they are my children, not just my sisters. It wounds me to see them hurt in any way. I want to crush anyone who causes them pain.” It was difficult to admit even to himself that on more than one occasion he had considered putting an end to Sin. Roman did not like to admit to the darker aspects of his nature. He prided himself on being in control of his destiny, yet he was trapped in the library by a seventeen-year-old human girl.

“That’s the vampire curse. We cling to the things we love most, but we also can destroy them if we’re not cautious.” Armando slumped into a chair. “Maybe you should keep Vanora in Houston. Maybe not in the house, but nearby. Your love for her is an anchor to your mortal coil.”

“
What is your anchor?”

The surprise on Armando’s face was unexpected. “My anchor?”

“Yes, yours.” Roman drew the curtains, blocking out the mausoleum.

Running his fingers lightly through his hair, Armando exhaled slowly. “My career mostly.”

“Really?” Roman wasn’t too sure if his cursory interaction in his family’s business dealings was enough to keep him tethered to the mortal world. There were nights when he drove through Houston just to see that it still existed, but it could be unnerving when his predatory instincts took over. It was too easy to spot prey hurrying through the night. Even a grocery store could bring out his vampire instincts if he saw someone parked far from the entrance.

“
You. Alisha. Vanora.” Armando slightly shrugged. “Your law.”

Though Roman was flattered, the answer didn’t satisfy him. “You’ve killed,” Roman said in a low voice. “You know what it’s like to kill and not feel remorse.”

“Yes,” Armando said simply.

“
And your friendships and career are enough to keep you from that?” Roman sat across from Armando to better scrutinize his friend’s face. It was a question he had wanted to ask for some time, but had been reluctant to utter. The words shone too much light on Roman’s own darkest fears.

“
Let me be frank with you. At times it’s not easy. We are predators. Our instinct to hunt never goes away. And once you kill…there is a taste for it. Not just the blood, but all that comes with it. It’s intoxicating. It’s empowering. It’s easy to lose all sense of self to the predator that is within us. Yet, the man who I was when I died remains.” Armando pressed a hand to his chest. “I am still Armando. I am still the man I was when I was mortal. There have been moments when I have lost myself in the more terrible times of my existence, but…” Armando trailed off, his amber eyes growing distant.

“
But?” Roman prompted.

“
I find my way back. Something or someone comes along that reminds me of who I once was and still am, apart from the hunger. Writing about Spain and the history of the colonies reminds me of my heritage. Being your friend, seeing your struggles, your determination inspires me. Alisha’s artwork reminds me of my own days in the sun.” Armando hesitated. “Seeing Vanora grow into a young woman helps me remember the beauty of humanity.”

Rubbing his face, Roman considered his friend’s words while trying to sort out his own thoughts. “My sisters keep me strong even when the hunger comes. I think of them and I don’t want to fail them. I admit to a certain amount of trepidation about losing Vanora. When she wasn’t here…Alisha and I both struggled.”

Armando tapped his fingers on the armrest. “Then maybe she should stay here.”

Adamantly wagging his head, Roman said, “No, no. She must have the chance to live her own life. Apart from us. This darkness. Sometimes I wonder if it was a mistake keeping her here. When she returned from her vacation with her cousins she was so happy.” The mere thought of Vanora being gone and living in the huge house alone with Alisha depressed Roman. “But, perhaps, Vanora leaving will allow me and Alisha to move on. Find a new purpose for ourselves.”

“You have time,” Armando reminded him with a wry smile.

“
I miss Norma. She was my girlfriend when I died,” Roman said, surprising himself with his candor. He usually didn’t share this much, but he felt strangely emotional at the thought of all the upcoming changes. “She’s married now with three kids. I felt lost one night and looked her up on that site Alisha’s been on a lot. Facebook? I think it’s new. I don’t know. Alisha had her laptop open, so I looked up Norma. She looked happy.”

“
So that’s why you’re so maudlin?”

“
Maybe. I suppose it was a vivid reminder of what I lost and can no longer have.”

“
But you may one day find love, Roman. Look at Sheila and Alexander. They’ve been together well over a century.”

“
What about you, Armando?” Roman stared at his friend, curiosity nibbling at him.

“
I’ve had many lovers,” Armando said with a dismissive shrug.

“
But actual love?”

“
I have avoided it.” It was an honest answer that was also unexpected.

“
Why?”

“
Because I don’t want to lose love again,” Armando answered. “To feel that pain. That loss.”

“
So four hundred years…”

Armando gave him a slight nod. “I have been fond of many women and spent years with some of them, but if there was even an inkling I could fall in love with them, I would leave. Always.”

“I don’t think I could do that,” Roman decided. “I would have to give it a chance.”

Armando didn’t respond.

“But I am glad you’re my friend. I thank you for spending the day here so you could speak to Rhonda for me. I trust your opinion.”

“
Rhonda cares for Vanora. She’s a good friend. You shouldn’t worry,” Armando said with a slight smile.

Feeling a twinge of guilt over bringing up a difficult and dreary subject matter, Roman said, “I didn’t mean to pry about…your love life.”

“You’re not prying into something I do not have. That I cannot have.” Armando’s voice was flat.

“
Maybe one day. For both of us.”

Armando lifted his amber eyes. “For you.”

“Abstaining from love is never a good idea,” Roman declared. He grinned at Armando and went to reclaim his wineglass filled with pig’s blood and wine. “It has a way of finding you when you least expect it. Or maybe that is just what I’m hoping.”

The door clicked open and Alisha poked her head in. “They’re gone. Off to some concert Rhonda’s brother is having.”

“How was the visit?”

Alisha entered the room and crawled over the back of the brocade sofa that Roman had already made a mental note to have reupholstered. It was an older piece of furniture that had been brought from Romania. “Oh, she’s a wild one. She’ll get Vanora out and about in Austin. They’ll be fine. Rhonda is that wild friend every shy girl should have.”

“Wild? I don’t like wild!” Roman frowned, sipping the blood and finding it a bit flat.

“
This from the blood-sucking vampire,” Alisha scoffed.

Roman rolled his eyes.  “Maybe one of you should go check on them. Make sure they are safe.”

“You’re never going to survive her moving away, are you?” Alisha shook her head.

“
Maybe she
should
stay in Houston,” Armando suggested.

“
Oh?” Alisha said in a significant tone.

Armando lifted an eyebrow.

“Am I missing something?” Roman looked between the two in confusion.

“
No,” Armando said swiftly.

“
Probably,” Alisha said with a wide grin.

“
Why do I never know what you’re talking about?” Roman playfully smacked Alisha on the back of the head.

“
Because you’re a man. And oblivious. Drink your blood, dear.”

Roman fastened his most stern expression upon his face and leaned toward Alisha. “Are you keeping something from me?”

“Me? Keeping something from you? Oh, no. Not me.”  Alisha grinned at Armando.

Armando glanced at his watch. “I need to go. I have a book deadline and I’m behind.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Roman said, watching his friend head toward the door.

Armando merely nodded and slipped out of the library.

“You’re up to something,” Roman said suspiciously to his sister.

“
Me?” Alisha plastered a very fake smile on her face. “I’m the picture of innocence.”

“
Uh huh.” Roman eyed her suspiciously.

“
Let’s go over to Sheila and Alexander’s. They’re having a small party.”

“
A date with my sister. How pathetic is that?”

Alisha laid her head on his shoulder. “You know how to make a girl feel special.”

Roman gruffly kissed her forehead. “Fine. Let’s go. Maybe you’ll find yourself a nice vampire boyfriend.”

“
Maybe you’ll find yourself a nice vampire girlfriend.”