Reining In (The Network) (9 page)

The cut above my eye was deep and angry. The blood from the wound was not quite dry and the warm sticky mess clung to my fingers as I pulled them away. I tried to pull myself to my feet, but it hurt too much, so I sat back against the cold wall. I knew I was alone, and for that, I was grateful.

The sun had just started to rise, barely lighting the room I was in. I looked around, straining my eyes, trying to assess my situation. I knew where I was, and even why I was there, but I could not remember much else. How I got in this room was beyond me. Surely it was not on my own two feet.

As my eyes rested on the door that led to the outer hallway, I saw something on the ground. My heart sank as I realized what it was, and immediately, I knew how I got here. He had brought me here.

I did my best to try to hold back the tears that I knew were coming. I don’t know why I cared. It shouldn’t have bothered me by now, but somehow, I felt betrayed. No, I know why I cared. It was because it had always been her that had hurt me, humiliated me, treated me like a slave. Always her, never him.

He had let her do it, sure, but he had never been the one to do the actual task. At least, not until now. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was angry with me; so very angry with me. I had never angered him before. She was always angry with me; but him, he had no emotion for me. Not even anger.

I crawled over to the doorway and picked up my father’s sash. I knew it was his, because no one else was allowed this fabric. Only he was. I also knew it was no accident that it was left behind. Not by him, I was sure. He was neither clumsy, nor intentionally cruel.

Of course she did it. She wanted me to know that he was involved in my punishment. I leaned back against the door, letting my head fall between my knees. It was hopeless to think that my father would ever love me. His wife would never allow it. Set had promised to take me away from all of this. But he had been gone for months. Why had he not come back for me?

Part of me wished he was here, now, holding me, but there was another part that was angry with him; so very angry. He was the reason I was sitting here now, bleeding and bruised. If he had come back like had said he would, she would’ve never known, and I would be gone by now. I would be free from this prison that was my home. Now, I would have to stay. There was no way my father would leave me unguarded after this. It wouldn’t be long before he sent his priests in to see me.

I stopped breathing. Would he need to send them? Surely the beating I had received would’ve been sufficient to do the job? Or had it? I concentrated hard, trying to feel, to sense anything. I was concentrating so hard that I jumped when there came a soft knock at the door that I was leaning against.

I moved away and waited for the door to open. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see the punishment that would come through the doorway and strike me down. But it didn’t come. I opened my eyes to see a small plump woman peeking through the doorway. Halima. Tears leapt from my eyes as I ran to her and wrapped my arms around her neck.

“Quiet now, do you want someone to hear us?” She pulled me away from her, and handed me a bundle of clothing.

“Put this on, quickly.”

I did as she said, not bothering to take off the clothes I was already wearing. Halima did her best to wipe the blood from my face, then took another bundle of cloths and wrapped it around me, under the large cloak I had just put on.

“There now. No one could hardly mistake you for the pretty little Zahra we all know. Let’s get you out of here.”

“But Halima, you could get in trouble. My father…..”

“Don’t you worry about him. He has sent me here. He will stop her if she tries to follow us.” The old woman paused. “We should’ve taken you away from him a long time ago. I’m sorry Zahra.”

Sadness swept over her face. I wrapped my arms around her once more. No, it was not her fault that I was in this situation. As she hugged me back, I felt a small flutter. I smiled. It was not too late.

Chapter Ten

My throat burned as I sucked in a ragged breath. Air, sweet air. I know what you’re thinking; really, I do. How is it that a vampire, an immortal, can pass out from lack of air? Funny thing, those legends about vampires, werewolves and other creatures of the night; most of them are wrong. Well, maybe not wrong, but exaggerated so much that no one remembers the real truth.

Unless you’re me, of course, or like me. I know what’s real and what’s not. For instance, I know that I have to breathe. Sure, I can hold my breath for what seems like an infinitesimal amount of time to most people, but still, I gotta breathe.

It’s not so much that I would’ve died from not breathing; I would have to not breathe for a very long time for that to happen. It’s more what could happen to me while I was not breathing, or more accurately, not awake. My head was a little cloudy at first, as I tried to remember what had happened. I shook off the bits of dream that still danced in my head.

Dreams. I must’ve been out for a while. But as it started to come back to me, I realized it hadn’t been as long as I thought. It was still dark out. It occurred to me that it was a small miracle that I was sitting here, breathing at all. Markus was, after all, a very talented hunter. Even I was no match for him.

I strained my eyes so that I might see into the farthest corners of the room. I knew he must still be near. If he had let me live, then the only explanation could be that he had recognized me. Our friendship alone had saved my life. I knew that with certainty. Markus had never shown mercy on his prey, or a rival. Interrupting his meal, as I had, made me a rival in his eyes.

When I didn’t see him anywhere in the room, I slowly got up from the floor. I wasn’t in the entryway, where we had fought, but I knew I must still be in the abandoned house. Broken windows, tipped furniture and graffiti on the walls made that apparent. I neared the door and reached for the doorknob.

I was surprised to notice that my hand was shaking. Was I afraid? Of Markus? Well, he did just try to kill me. I certainly did have reason to fear him. I turned the knob and stepped out into the hallway. I listened for him, but did not hear anything.

After a few moments, I finally called out his name. I didn’t expect him to reply, so when a hand landed on my shoulder from behind me, I screamed and jumped. Damn, I was afraid. I felt like one of those stupid girls on the horror movies that you yell at from the safety of your couch. My heart was racing as I turned to see him, half afraid of…. Of what?

Tears sprang from my eyes as my hands found their way to his cheeks. He shrugged away from me, trying to avoid my touch. My poor Markus. What had become of him? He looked like he was nearly a hundred years old; not like the young man I had once known.

His skin was almost translucent and hung off his bones. But his eyes, his eyes were ever the same. They were the doorway to his soul, and I knew by looking into them, that he was the same man; just as I had known earlier, when I was locked in battle with him. Curious how fragile he looked, yet he was so strong. I had not stood a chance against him.

“Markus, what happened to you?” I asked, trying to steady my voice, reaching for him once again. This time he let me rest my hand on his cheek. His skin was so cold, even more than what would be normal for a vampire. He closed his eyes and cocooned my hands in his. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper, cracking with the effort.

“I have been……. locked up,” he finally replied. “For the past three hundred years; locked in a crypt by superstitious fools.” He spat those last words out with such disgust. Sadness swept over me, and I sighed quietly. I knew what he had been through. I had seen it before.

Exile, by humans. Humans who didn’t know any other way to kill the creature they feared, so they locked it up for eternity. It worked well. I had used the same method myself, long ago. I looked up at Markus. He nodded and sighed, too. He had been the one to help me. A couple of centuries was nothing compared to what we had done.

“How did you get out? How did you get here?” I had many more questions I wanted to ask, but Markus put his hand up in an effort to stop me. I could tell it was with great effort, and I stopped immediately.

“I’m sorry Khalida, I am weakened from hunger. I will tell you what I can, and then I must rest.” Despite his protests, he did fill me in on a few things. He told me how he had been locked up by angry villagers who thought he was a monster. They were unable to kill him, but managed to trap him, then forced him into a steel coffin. The coffin was then locked away in crypt, buried under several tons of rocks, where it remained for nearly three centuries.

It was discovered by and American archeologist, who then brought it to the states. Little did he know what he had discovered. When he first opened the casket, he thought he had discovered a mummy.

Fortunately for the scientist, Markus was sleeping at the time, or he might’ve been a tasty morsel for my friend. He had wakened later, to find his casket opened. He quickly escaped the museum where he was “detained” and headed away from the crowded cities. He fed on whatever and whoever crossed his path, trying to quench his three hundred year thirst. And that is how I found him; feeding on the remains of a homeless man who made the mistake of wandering into this abandoned house.

“I know you prefer not to feed on innocents, but I am not you, Khalida, and right now, my hunger rules me. I barely had the strength to stop myself when I realized it was you.”

“I’m afraid you’ve picked a very bad place to return to the living, my friend.”

“Oh?” Markus looked puzzled.

“Vyktor is here. Well, not here, but very close. Within an hour’s drive.”

He shot me a puzzled look then. Right. What’s a car, Khallie?

“Um, about as far as you could run in an hour.”

“I see.” He said it so quietly. I could feel the pain in his voice. Markus, like me, could not bring himself to kill Vyktor. It was a promise Markus had made to me long ago. He had also been there when I fought so hard to save Vyktor’s life. He had helped me. He knew what the cost was, but he still helped me. And yet, Vyktor had made him his mortal enemy.

Because I loved him. For everything he did; for all that he sacrificed; I loved him. And that alone was enough reason for Vyktor to want to destroy him. It was probably so much better for Markus when we all thought he was dead. At least then, no one would come looking for him.

“Seems you were better off in the coffin,” I laughed, trying to lighten the conversation a little. I could see his lips curl up into a slight smile, as I reached up to put my arms around his neck. He hugged me back, and the world seemed just a little more right. As best it could with all the craziness in my life that just never seemed to stop.

I spent the next hour or so filling him in on everything that had happened in my life over the past few decades. Markus listened intently, taking it all in. He was not such an emotional creature, like I was; but still, he seemed to understand how torn I was over the past events. It was nice to have someone who actually understood what it was like; to have lived centuries, even millennia; to have experienced life the way only a vampire could. He knew what it was like, and having him here, now, was a great comfort to me.

He had kept his distance for the most part, and I understood it was his hunger. He was trying hard to control it; for fear that it might drive him to attack me again. I suggested that we hunt, while it was still dark out. I tolerated the day; Markus avoided it like the plague. He readily agreed and we made our way to the outdoors. We talked quietly while we hunted.

Markus had a preference for human blood, and rarely ate anything else at all, so it was surprising to me when he not only drank from, but then devoured three large bucks. I guess starvation will do that to you. When he was finished, I saw that he already looked years younger than he did back in the house. He certainly didn’t look frail anymore. “How are you feeling? Less aggressive?” I joked. A pained look crossed his face as I said it, and I immediately regretted the words. He truly felt bad for what he had done.

“Markus, what’s done is done. No point in feeling bad about it.”

“I suppose you’re right, but I can’t help but feel terrible. After all we’ve been through, to have it end like that, with you as a meal. God, Khalida, how can you just let it go so easily?”

“Markus, did you not listen to anything I just told you? I have been holding on to too much lately. I can’t live like that! Besides, what makes you think you could actually kill me? ME? Hah.” Markus laughed and rolled his eyes at me. Of course we both knew it was an easy task for him, but I’d like to think that under normal circumstance, I would’ve had a fighting chance. Probably not.

“So when do I get to meet this friend of yours?” he suddenly piped up. I didn’t answer right away. It’s not that I wouldn’t want him to meet Jake, or anyone else, for that matter. But I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea, after the earlier events of the evening. Sensing my cautiousness, Markus spoke up.

“Khalida, I do feel fine, I promise. But I understand if you don’t want me near your humans. It’s just that after all these years, I don’t have anyone else. From what you’ve told me, I think I could be useful to you and your, what did you call it? Network?” He was right, of course. He could be very useful to me; to all of us.

Markus was quite resourceful when he wanted to be. But he was also a tenacious killer, and control was something he didn’t come by easily. I didn’t know if I could trust him around the people I cared about. They trusted me to never turn on them. How could I ask them to trust someone I didn’t entirely believe would see them as anything other than a buffet line? Markus was my friend, though. I owed him. Perhaps, baby steps. Jake first, then the others. I could protect Jake. Of that, I had no doubt.

“How about you make yourself presentable, and then we’ll see.”

“What, I don’t look charming like this?” Blood still dripped from his face, and his hair reminded me a lot of Albert Einstein. I shook my head and laughed.