Sunrise at Sunset (44 page)

He’s lying
, Katrina observed morosely.

“So, you were awake all night?” he asked carefully.

“Yes,” she patiently replied. “I didn’t want risk another accident.”

“Alton seemed pretty insistent about things last night,” he ventured cautiously.

“What are you trying to say, Caleb?” she asked levelly.

He paused, trying to determine how to broach the subject without being insulting. “Is he a leader or some kind of figurehead among other vampires?” he asked, his body tensing slightly.

She easily detected the tension in his muscles and made an effort not to be upset. “He was my mentor, of course,” she reminded him. “Naturally, there are times when I choose to defer to his wisdom.”

“Oh,” he responded in a casual, but vague manner.

“There are times when he defers to my expertise, as well,” she added, recalling their recent exploits together tracking Chimalma.

“Okay,” he accepted.
Alton’s take-charge attitude was intimidating last night.
“Please don’t be angry if I ask this, but should I also be deferring to him?”

Her soft left hand pressed lightly against the right side of his face and pivoted his face to hers. He felt her breath on his skin as she spoke to him, her mouth merely inches from his face. “My rules are the ones that apply to you, nobody else’s,” she explained slowly. “But you should also defer to him, as well as to Paige, where your safety or well being is concerned.”

“I wasn’t trying to imply –” he apologized.

“I know,” she interrupted him with a slight edge to her voice. “I realize these otherworldly conditions and semantics may seem confusing to you.”

“Don’t be upset. I already understand you’re my alpha vampire,” he conceded gently. “I just didn’t want to encounter any misunderstandings in the future.”
Vampire socialization sure can be complex
, he thought irritably.

Katrina said nothing but kissed him warmly on the lips in reply.
He understands better than I thought
, she mused appreciatively as she removed her hand from the side of his face.

He sighed. “I better get up so you can sleep.” The truth was he wanted to have some time to himself to think about all that happened the night before.

“No hurry,” she muttered as he pulled his body away from hers and rolled his legs over the edge of the bed.

He held his breath as a fresh pain and subsequent achiness shot through his left shoulder and into his lower neck. He tried not to make a point of his pain to Katrina, despite his continued irritation over the event. He picked up his cell phone and flipped it open to use the ambient light to negotiate the dark to the bathroom. Even the monitors on the computer hutch were in power saver mode.

She watched him gather jeans and a sweater on his way to the bathroom. She could easily tell his discomfort was still considerable, despite her ministrations the night before.

“I’ll try to leave quietly when I’m done,” he offered congenially.

“That’s fine,” she muttered as the bathroom door closed. She laid her head down on the pillow and sighed forlornly.
Why did last night have to happen things were getting better again and returning to normal
? she thought bitterly. And yet she realized that in addition to this new matter, she was still wary about his safety. All of the events from the past few days were still so prevalent in her mind, and Katrina didn’t want to leave her guard down.
Or am I just being paranoid?

She had to find some way to return things to the way they were before Chimalma’s interference in their lives. She lay in the bed listening for Caleb’s quiet exit from the room before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Caleb sat in a deck chair on the back porch sipping hot Darjeeling tea from a ceramic mug as the winter sunshine beamed down upon him. While his shoulder still ached, he was becoming accustomed to the feeling and adjusted his arm and shoulder articulations to compensate.

After he ate breakfast, Alton and Paige had agreed to let him sit outside in the morning sun on the back porch only if he kept close to the doorway leading back into the house. The door remained open, and he knew that Paige was sitting just inside reading a book, but away from the threat of the sun.

“Feel good out there, Mister Sunshine?” she asked.

He smiled as the warm sun beat down upon him. “Never better.” The house sheltered him from any direct breeze, so he felt quite content sitting outside on that cool December morning. Winter in the south didn’t always mean cold, even as close to Christmas as it was.

“Stupid sunshine,” she muttered darkly. “Half my productive time is wasted hiding from it.”

He stifled a chuckle and was struck once again by the memories from the previous night.
What happened?
If it were a nightmare, it was definitely nothing he had experienced around Katrina before. He recalled the snarling in her sleep and the sudden bite on his shoulder. He’d been stunned by how utterly horrible the pain had been. Being bitten by an aggressive neighborhood dog as a child paled in comparison. It was no wonder the legends about vampires struck fear into people’s hearts.

“I can’t believe how sharp vampire fangs are,” he muttered numbly as his mind retraced memories of the attack. “I’ve never felt pain like that before.”

Paige teased, “No-duh! Fangs!”

“Come on. I’m serious,” he stated flatly.

She sighed. “It’s hell being bitten without the numbing effect, Caleb. I mean, I’ve fanged a few guys before, but nothing like that. Vampires only do what happened to you when they’re in battle, trying to maim or kill an opponent.”

He frowned. “What do you mean by ‘fanged’?”

“We do that for intimidation or punishment to our human partners sometimes. You extend your fangs and just lightly prick someplace sensitive. It’s quick and relatively harmless, but makes a point you’re very displeased with someone,” she explained. “And if you’re really pissed, you usually don’t numb or seal the area. It bleeds a little bit, gets sore, and has to heal on its own. Sends a real message.”

He didn’t like hearing that very much. It made him feel resentful towards vampires given his current situation.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you about that,” she conceded as an afterthought.

“Thanks for being honest, at least,” he replied.
Better forewarned than blatantly surprised like last night. But last night wasn’t supposed to have been intentional
, he rationalized.

“She’d never actually want to harm you, Caleb,” Paige offered. “It’s got to be killing her inside right now. You mean everything to her.”

“But she might fang me sometime,” he ventured irritably.

“Hey, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you,” she countered. “Hell, I’d fang you in a minute if I thought you deserved it.”

He shook his head and cursed under his breath.

The silence grew between them, and Caleb’s mind wandered as he sipped his tea. After a few minutes, his thoughts drifted, and it occurred to him Christmas was less than a week away. It was strange because Christmas didn’t have the same meaning for him after his mother died. While he had friends and girlfriends, it wasn’t as if he had anyone truly special to spend the holiday with. Now that he did, the prospect was tainted by the previous night.

Of course, he hadn’t done any shopping yet, either. First, there had been the preparations for the end of the semester and finals, and then Chimalma intruded into their lives. Despite what happened the night before, he wanted to try to find at least a little something to give Katrina for Christmas.

“As if I could think about Christmas shopping,” he muttered absently.

“Did you say Christmas?” Paige asked. “I haven’t celebrated Christmas in years.”

“Maybe Chanukah?” he ventured, unsure if vampires even believed in religion.

“I’m not Jewish, Caleb,” she retorted. “Most vampires don’t celebrate holidays, that’s all. It’s just another day for us. Oh sure, we might show up at a party or function, but that’s about it. I suppose some of us with human companions and mates might take part.”

“You don’t have a companion?” he asked, somewhat surprised he hadn’t thought to ask until then.

Paige paused. “I’m between companions, actually. I don’t want to be tied down right now.”

“You should try it sometime,” he quipped with a suggestive tone.

She chuckled. “Ha, although I bet I could talk Katrina into loaning you out to me on both counts!”

He laughed and choked on his tea as it went down his windpipe, and Paige giggled with satisfaction at his response.

“It’s good to hear you laugh again so soon, kiddo,” she whispered.

As Paige watched over Caleb, Alton met with Katrina in her sublevel room with the door closed. She was unable to sleep more than about an hour before she got up to shower, and had just finished pulling on jeans and a turtleneck when Alton showed up to chat.

“Tell me what happened last night,” he prompted.

Her eyes grew sad, and she recounted the nightmare beginning with the initial attack by her assailants followed by her own bloodlust and seeking out the attackers as prey. When she mentioned Chimalma, Alton’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Has anything like that happened before?” he inquired.

“Yes, but it was a long time ago. I woke a couple of times after nightmares with some fang marks on my pillow,” she recalled. “Though it’s never happened to someone sleeping next to me before. Of course, my bed partners are few and far between.”

He nodded. “Our recent exploits seem to have reawakened some strong emotions in you. I recall your past has been quite violent at times. You and I have worked to try to curb such cravings. Do you remember those occasions when we’ve tried to channel them into safer, more focused diversions?”

She recalled the hunting experiences involving animals, as well as her occasional volunteering as a mercenary or bounty hunter for select clients just to work such desires out of her system. But it was a long time since her last diversions, and she noticed over recent years most of those cravings went dormant. However, recent activities had reawakened those longings, and she realized how strongly they pulled upon her. It was part of her nature, after all.

“I swore I’d never hurt Caleb. I’ve tried to protect and nurture him,” she offered weakly. “Now look what I’ve done. He probably despises me.” She recalled Caleb’s distant and cool behavior from earlier that morning.

He scoffed. “Hardly. In fact, that’s ridiculous. He’s wary, perhaps frightened a little bit, but he still cares for you. Although it’s going to take some time to work through this with him, I think. Still, it was promising that he went back to sleep next to you so recently after the attack. That should say something about him to you.”

It was small consolation. She felt terrible about what happened and was still beside herself with guilt at having done that, even unconsciously, to Caleb.

Following a knock at the door, Paige entered with a curious expression. “Sorry to interrupt,” she apologized.

“Caleb?” Katrina asked with concern.

Paige adopted a reassuring look. “No, he’s fine. He just came in from sitting on the back porch. I just wondered when Alton’s leaving so I can drive him to the airport. I’d like to keep the car for a while longer, if that’s okay.”

“You don’t care for the economical sedan?” Alton teased.

Paige merely stuck her tongue out at the elder vampire.

However, Katrina looked sharply at Alton and asked, “Departure?”

“I returned some phone calls last night and just received a follow-up call this morning. I’m afraid that something time-critical has come up, and I’m going to be forced to return to Europe,” Alton explained with some hesitation. “It seems my contact at Interpol is calling in a favor card earlier than I expected. I’m sure they didn’t realize my recent information acquisition would involve me so directly.”

“What’s happened?” Katrina asked.

“A terrorist cell was recently infiltrated, and they need a large front of capital to facilitate further actions. Interpol has an immediate opportunity, but apparently there’s no time to use conventional or official channels for the funds. Naturally, they would appreciate my financial contribution to back their immediate efforts with their promise to reimburse me later.”

Katrina nodded. She had hoped that under the circumstances Alton would be able to remain in Atlanta longer.

“I spoke with Paige, and she assured me she can stay here for a time,” Alton offered. “And I’ll be checking in via phone and email, of course.”

“I’m here for both of you, Red,” Paige added supportively.

“I understand,” Katrina replied before turning her attention to Paige. “And short-stuff, I can’t thank you enough.”

She smirked, and everyone fell silent.

“I’m sorry I can’t stay. I would if I could, you know. You two are the closest thing that I’ve come to family since my turning,” Alton quietly offered.