In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete Second Season: Episodes 6-10 (16 page)

“
Please, don’t,” Rhonda managed to say, her eyes briefly lifting from the knife to the wretched face before her.

“
You just don’t get it,” Neil growled, shaking the knife at her.

Rhonda whimpered. In her mind, she always imagined herself as a fighter, but her mind and body had gone numb.

“Stop talking and just kill her,” a voice muttered.

A slender shape stepped into view behind Neil. It was the same teenager from the parking lot that Rhonda had seen earlier.

“She doesn’t understand,” Neil whispered in anguish.

“
And she won’t,” the teen assured him, her voice slightly taunting and her eyes flat and cold like a shark’s. “She’ll never understand your pain. So kill her.”

Panicked, Rhonda was finally released from her paralysis. She fumbled with her purse in a blind panic, trying to find her pepper spray.

“Do it now,” the girl snarled. “Kill her!”

Rhonda’s fingers closed on the canister and she jerked it clear of her purse.

“I can’t,” Neil cried out in agony.

The teen girl rested her hand on his arm. “Then let me help.”

Rhonda pressed the trigger on the canister.

Armando perched outside of Vanora’s room, clothed in shadows and hidden from the world. One hand resting on the window, he sensed she was still slumbering. The tendrils of his power whispered against her thoughts, but she kept him out. It was a natural slumber, so he waited for her to awaken. When she did, he would once again speak to her about Roman.

Listening to Vanora shifting in her bed was difficult for him. He felt as though he was intruding on her carefully constructed life, yet he missed her. More than ever, he was tired of being torn between Vanora and his Master. Nothing about the situation that held him captive was simple. Though he was certain he had found a way to circumvent Aeron’s edict, it saddened him to realize that in order for his plan to work, Vanora’s would have to be directly in danger from Aeron himself.

Nearby, a man was arguing with someone. The whispered words were harsh, but Armando ignored the conversation. His concentration was on the girl on the other side of the window. He felt like a stalker, but didn’t know what else to do. With Althea’s assassins on the way, he had to be on the alert. He would not allow anyone to hurt Vanora. Armando had even hired security to watch over her during the day.

Armando tucked his clasped hands under his chin and tried to formulate a new plan to compel Vanora to return to Houston. He considered telling her about Althea’s assassins, but wasn’t sure how to explain them without speaking about Aeron, which would be a violation of the edict.

“Kill her,” a voice hissed through the night.

It took Armando a second to realize that the words were tethered to a supernatural command. Immediately, he scanned the area, his vampire senses attuned to any danger. To his dismay, he realized a familiar power was nearby, someone he wouldn’t identify as dangerous because of the common blood they shared.

“Lorelei,” he muttered.

Keeping himself shrouded in the shadows, he climbed swiftly along the side of the building. The sweet, evil tinkling of Lorelei’s laughter filled the air followed by a gasp, a sickening crack, and then something heavy tumbled to the ground. Armando launched himself around the side of the building and alighted on the rail edging the landing outside of Vanora’s front door.

Rhonda lay sprawled on the welcome mat, her head resting against a small planter set beside the front door. A large man lay at the base of the stairs, his neck bent at an odd angle. A hot peppery smell burned his nose and eyes. He saw then that a can of pepper spray was in Rhonda’s hand. Lorelei stood in the shadows, giggling.

“
What did you do?” Armando gasped. Dropping next to Rhonda, he saw the hilt of a large knife protruding from between the lapels of her winter coat.

“
He wanted to kill her,” Lorelei answered, shrugging her delicate shoulders. “I just made sure he did, then didn’t live to regret it.”

“
I heard your order to kill her,” Armando hissed.

“
He was faltering. I just helped.” Lorelei smiled sweetly. “Now Vanora can go home. Rhonda was her anchor to this place. Now she’s gone.”

Hand hovering over Rhonda’s blank eyes, Armando realized he couldn’t touch her. He didn’t know who the man below was or why he’d come to kill Rhonda. Other than Lorelei, he sensed no other supernatural creature. The man wasn’t one of Althea’s assassins.

“I had more time to convince her,” Armando said in a gruff tone.

“
I saw an opportunity and took it. I had considered just killing her myself, but then this nice man showed up to do it for me.” Lorelei’s smile widened with contentment. “I love it when things are simple and uncomplicated.”

“
Get out of here,” Armando ordered. Taking out his cellphone, he pulled up his dial pad. The emergency operator answered almost immediately. “I need to report a murder.” A wash of cold air stirred his curls and Armando noted that Lorelei was gone.

Once he was done answering all the questions the emergency operator hurled at him, Armando hung up and remained crouched over Rhonda. He fought the urge to move her. It bothered him to see her open eyes and startled expression. Blood flecked her lips and pooled around her body. The blood stirred his hunger slightly, but he had fed well and recently, so he was able to quash it.

Armando ran his fingers slowly through his hair. How was he going to tell Vanora about this? What was he going to tell her? Guilt at him when he considered how close he had been when Rhonda had died. If only he had paid attention when he had heard the argument. He’d been so intent on Vanora being safe, he never really thought about her roommate.

From the depths of Rhonda’s purse, her cellphone begin to play music.

Rolling over in her sleep, Vanora felt Rhonda lightly touch her shoulder as her voice said, “I’m so sorry I have to leave you alone. I’m so sorry, Vanora. The darkness caught me, and now I have to go.”

“Rhonda?”

“
I’m so sorry.”

Waking, Vanora blinked into the muted light from her lamp. Her head felt heavy with sleep and she forced herself upright.

“Rhonda?”

Her throat was parched, so Vanora climbed out of bed, grabbed her cellphone, and wandered toward the kitchen. Only the lamp in the living room on the automatic timer cast any light in the main living areas. Rhonda’s door was shut, the light in her room off.

“Rhonda?”

There was no answer.

Stepping into the kitchen, Vanora turned on the light and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Gulping it down, she watched the screen on her cellphone. There were a lot of messages from Rhonda, two from Dan, and one from her aunt. With a yawn, Vanora listened to them while trying to quench her deep thirst. She felt physically exhausted, as though she had run for miles.

Vanora felt bad that she had missed so many from Rhonda. Caught up in her own worries, she hadn’t thought about checking in with Rhonda. Her roommate was having a rough time with the upcoming inventory. And even though she had downplayed the situation with her former employee, Vanora suspected it was bothering Rhonda more than she had admitted. She returned Rhonda’s call, tucking the phone between her shoulder and ear as she walked into the living room. The phone began to ring on the other end, then Vanora heard Rhonda’s ring tone right outside the front door. With a smile, she canceled the call, unlocked the door, and yanked it open.

“I was just calling you!”

The scene in front of her made no sense to her mind at first. Armando’s vivid amber eyes caught her attention first. They glowed slightly in the light from the apartment.

“Vanora,” he said, straightening.

Rhonda lay before her on a red satin sheet.

“I’m dreaming,” she whispered, her phone falling from her gasp and landing with a thump on the welcome mat.

Then Vanora’s shocked mind recognized the bright red as blood. It was in Rhonda’s tawny curls and seeping out from between her pink lips. Whimpering, Vanora bent over, her hand reaching to close Rhonda’s terrified eyes.

“Don’t touch her, Vanora. The police are coming,” Armando said.

A hot, peppery scent lingered in the air, making Vanora’s eyes smart. It took a few more beats of her heart to spot the hilt of a knife sticking out of Rhonda’s coat, then the crumpled body of a man at the bottom of the stairs.

“Neil killed her,” she gasped, covering her mouth in horror.

“
Neil?” Armando was careful to avoid the pooling blood, moving to catch Vanora as she wobbled.

“
She fired him.” Vanora gripped the doorjamb and steadied herself. She stretched out her hand toward the knife.

“
Don’t touch anything,” Armando said, his fingers briefly clutching her wrist.

“
It’s hurting her,” Vanora sobbed.

“
Vanora, she’s dead. I’m so sorry.”

She fell back into the apartment, landing hard on her butt. The jolt sent a shock of pain up her spine, but she didn’t care. It was a relief when tears obscured her vision, so she didn’t have to see Rhonda’s empty face and terrified eyes.

“Ask me in.” Armando’s form was a black blot in her vision. It reminded her of the dream. Yet, his voice was filled with compassion and concern.

The silence stretched between them as he waited for his invitation.

“Come in.”

Instantly, he crossed the threshold and shut the door against the ghastly sight and bitter cold. Sirens sounded in the distance. Kneeling beside her, he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I was sleeping,” Vanora said, feeling the need to explain how she had failed Rhonda. “I didn’t hear her come home.”

“
It’s not your fault,” Armando answered.

“
You saw it happen?”

“
No, no. I arrived afterward. I was coming to talk to you about Roman and saw…” Armando lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”

The sound of footsteps on the stairs compelled Armando to open the door. Police were swarming the area while paramedics rushed up the stairs.

“I’m scared,” Vanora whispered as Armando helped her to her feet.

“
Just answer truthfully,” Armando answered.

The blindness that settled over her eyes was a godsend. A raging headache and the constant flow of tears made it difficult to concentrate. Armando found her eye glasses with the thick lenses. The glasses helped her discern the blurry shapes around her, but didn’t allow any details. She was glad for it.

Armando sat next to her, explaining the discovery of Rhonda’s body to the police when they questioned him. His voice was calm, but his hand holding hers was trembling. When she heard him rattle off an apartment nearby as a home address, somehow she wasn’t surprised.

Vanora was swiftly realizing that her life was full of lies.

Time slipped past her like water, cold and swift.

The police did their job. The paramedics declared both Neil and Rhonda dead. There were calls to have the bodies removed. Evidence was gathered. And the whole time, Vanora sat on her sofa, blind, sobbing, and consumed with guilt. Though Neil had killed Rhonda, Vanora blamed herself. Rhonda had been touched by the darkness in her life.

Explaining about Neil threatening Rhonda to the police, Vanora found it difficult to talk. The homicide detectives were kind, but Vanora just wanted them to go away. Nothing they said or did was going to change what had happened. Rhonda was dead. Neil was dead. There was no real justice. It was just over. The lead detective said as much.

“
Do you have somewhere to stay?” one officer asked her, the blob that was his head looking toward Armando. He probably thought they were a couple.

“
My aunt and uncle,” Vanora answered. Someone had retrieved her phone for her, but she couldn’t see the screen to call. She floundered for a few seconds.

“
I’ll call them,” Armando offered.

Taking her phone, the vampire stepped into the kitchen.

“Sadly, in a bad economy, this sort of thing does happen,” the detective said to Vanora. “You’re lucky he attacked her outside and not in here. He may have killed you, too. But at least she got the bastard in the end. He got a face of pepper spray. That’s probably why he fell down the stairs.”

“
She was tough,” Vanora agreed. She was glad that she couldn’t make out the faces of the police. It made it easier to not deal with reality. For once, she was glad her sixth sense was shut down and allowing her to be blind.

When the front door finally closed and she was left alone with Armando, Vanora sat in the empty living room and knew her life in Austin was over. The apartment felt terribly empty and forlorn.

“I’ll get you an overnight bag and take you over to your aunt and uncle’s place.” Armando was just a dark shape in the doorway to the kitchen. Just like in her dream. A tiny thrill of fear slid through her.