They Come by Night (59 page)

And this wasn’t the place to be thinking of that, since at this point he couldn’t feed from me. As for making love with me, that wasn’t going to happen in this lifetime. Although if there was anything to reincarnation, maybe I’d luck out, and the next time around, I’d be able to offer him more than my blood.

I sighed and tuned back in to what the gang was saying.

“We’ll see you at the church for the rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, right?” Chrissie asked. “It’s at five thirty. And we’re going to Francesco’s for dinner afterward.”

“Cool. But… Dad?”

“Yes, son?”

“Tomorrow is the wedding rehearsal. Will you need me?”

“No, you go ahead.”

“Okay.” I turned back to Chrissie and Kenny. “I’ll be there. Are you sure you don’t want to come back to the house? We’ve got plenty of food.”

“Not this time, Ty.” Kenny reached out to take Chrissie’s hand.

This time Jimmy gave him a poke. “That sounds like you’ll be there the next time he loses a brother.”

“You know I didn’t—” Kenny looked flustered.

“I know. It’s okay.”

One by one they approached Dad and shook his hand. “Mr. Small, we’re very sorry for your loss,” they each said in turn.

“Thank you. I’m so pleased you’re Ty’s friends.”

The gang waved good-bye, piled into their cars, and I watched as they drove back to Clewiston.

“You have good friends, Ty.”

“I….” I had a niggling sensation as the base of my skull, and lost track of what I’d planned to say. I looked around and spotted a man and two boys hovering a few yards away from us. “Ekaterina?”

She strode over to them, spoke for a minute, and then returned.

Dad was the head of the family, but she addressed me. “This man and his sons wish to approach.”

“I don’t know them. Dad?”

He shook his head.

“I do, Ty.” Luke gestured to indicate the three were welcome. “This is Glenn Taylor, Mom’s husband. The boys are their sons, David and Jonathan.”

I sucked in a breath. That explained the feeling at the base of my skull. They were also incipient sabors.

“Why are you here?” Dad gazed stonily across at them.

“I came to offer my condolences. I don’t want to cause any trouble,” Mr. Taylor said. “But Matthew was my sons’ brother also. They have a right to say good-bye to him.”

“Does Maggie know you’re here?”

“Yes. She didn’t feel up to coming with us.” He glanced down at his sons. “They didn’t have much opportunity to know Matthew. Magdalena wouldn’t—” He swallowed whatever he’d been about to say. “Families can be pretty messed up. If you have no objection, I’d like David and Jonathan to know their other brother and sisters.”

“Brothers.” Luke emphasized the plural.

“I don’t understand. There was just you and Matthew.”

Luke exchanged glances with Sarah and Bethany. “Ty is also their brother.”

“Excuse me? I knew about you and Matthew and your sisters because your mother had to tell the doctor about previous pregnancies. She never—”

“No, I can’t say I’m surprised.” Dad didn’t look happy to have to admit that. “Nevertheless, Tyrell is the youngest of the children Maggie and I had, and therefore your sons’ half brother.”

“I beg your pardon, Tyrell. I didn’t mean to insult you. I really had no idea.”

“That’s okay, Mr. Taylor. I’ve known all my life my mother didn’t want me, so I’m not surprised she’d keep me a secret.” That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Tyrell!” Dad looked upset.

“It’s okay. I have you.”

“And now you’ve got us, also,” Luke said.

And a grandfather, an uncle and an aunt, and cousins! Wasn’t that an amazing turn of events? Luke and our sisters drew closer to me, but none of them made an effort to touch me.

“Are you really our brother?” The boy had almost platinum-blond hair and very blue eyes. He must have gotten his coloring from his mother’s side of the family, because his father was a brunet. His twin, not quite as blond and with eyes more an icy blue, stood close behind him.

“Yes, I am, David.”

“How can you tell the boys apart? Even their mother has a hard time….”

I shrugged. I’d have thought the differences were obvious, but it probably had to do with the fact I was a sabor, and in ten years, they would be also.

They threw themselves at me and grabbed me around my waist, and I staggered and almost went down from the pain. I thought I was going to pass out.

Mina was on her feet, growling, but because she must have been aware of what my brothers were, it was more a warning than a promise of retribution. Ekaterina, however, cried out in protest and grabbed David, while William pulled Jonathan away from me.

“Are you insane? Let my sons go!” Mr. Taylor made a grab for Ekaterina’s arm, but Henry stopped him easily. “What are you doing?”

“No one touches Tyrell.”

The twins wore identical expressions of confused hurt. “We can’t hug our brother? But we always hug Daddy and our cousins!” David explained.

The pain was easing off, and I caught my breath.

Poor boys. It was going to come as a shock to them when they’d no longer be able to touch another person, normal or saborese.

“You can hug me,” Luke told them, “or Sarah or Beth. But—”

“What’s wrong with him? Is he sick? Contagious?” Mr. Taylor hadn’t even begun to calm down. “This was a mistake. Magdalena was right! Come on, boys. We’re going home!”

“Please, Daddy! Don’t make us go yet!” David gripped his father’s sleeve, then turned to me. “We’re sorry, Tyrell. Don’t be mad at us!”

“It’s….” I couldn’t say it was okay; they might think they could do it again. “I’m not mad. But you have to understand you can’t touch me.”

“Okay. But why?” Jonathan asked in a quiet voice.

“Yeah,
why
?” Their father was a good man, wanting to keep his sons from being hurt. Did Magdalena realize how lucky she was to have two such caring men as the fathers of her children?

“I… My skin is supersensitive. It’s… it’s kind of like being an albino and needing protection to go out in the sun.”

“We’re sorry, Tyrell,” David said again. “We didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know you didn’t.”

“If we promise not to touch you again, may we… may we talk to you?”

“Sure.”

They exchanged glances. David motioned me to lean down, then folded his hands behind his back. “What happened to your neck?”

“Did someone bite you there?” Jonathan whispered.

I touched the mark I’d had since I was born. Poor little guys, I’d probably scared them spitless. “It’s a birthmark.” It was about a week since I’d fed Daniel, and the marks had faded as soon as he licked them closed. Could a sabor, even an incipient one, tell when another had fed a vampyr?

“That’s all it is?”

“Yes. My Uncle Phil has a similar one.”

“Oh.” David seemed to mull that over, but Jonathan had other things that interested him.

“Is this your dog?”

“Yes. Her name is Mina.” She sat at my heel again, and I leaned down and ruffled her ears.

“She’s beautiful. May we pet her?”

“Min?”

She went to them and let them stroke her fur, but after a minute or so, she came back to me.

“Her coat is so soft! I wish we could have a dog like her,” David said. “But Mama says taking care of one would interfere with our practicing.” He gazed at Mina wistfully.

They were unaware of it now, but one day they would each have a dog, brothers or sisters to my
Înger Păzitor
, and Magdalena would have no say in the matter at all.

“David and Jonathan are child prodigies,” their father said, and his pride was evident. Then he sighed. “I just wish Magdalena would let them be little boys from time to time.”

The groundskeeper approached Dad. “Excuse me, sir.”

“Time to lower the casket?”

He nodded.

“Thank you. Taylor, we’re going back to my house—we have a layout of food. Suppose you and your boys join us?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all. They can get to know their brothers and sisters.”

“They’d like that. They’re close to their cousins, but I know they’ve missed having brothers and sisters of their own.”

“Why don’t you follow the limousine? I’ll make sure the driver doesn’t lose you. Ty?”

“Yes, Dad.” I turned to the twins. “I’ll see you in a little while. Come on, Min.” We got into the limo. Just behind the front seat was a single passenger seat. Once I settled myself in, buckled up, and had Mina on my lap, the rest of the family and the day watchers climbed in as well.

I
STOOD in the doorway to the living room and watched as David and Jonathan played on the rug with Harker.

Adam would wake soon. I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to meet my younger brothers, and then I was ashamed of that feeling.

I sighed and observed the other occupants of the room. Dad was holding Mrs. Wilder’s hand again, and Mr. Taylor smiled faintly as his sons played with Harker.

Ekaterina was in a deep discussion with Luke, who couldn’t take his eyes off her. I chewed on my lower lip. How would Raymond react to that?

William and Henry were chatting—well, it was more like flirting—with my sisters. Thomas glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. I shrugged, and he sauntered over to join me.

“I’ve often
watched
with William and Henry. They’re good men.”

“I appreciate what you’ve all done for me.”

He frowned. “These past few days…. They seem attracted to Sarah and Bethany.”

“Yes?”

“Will you object?”

“I only met my sisters last night. And besides, I don’t have anything to say about who they get involved with.”

“But you’re the….” He glanced around. No one was close enough to overhear him, but he dropped his voice anyway. “…the sabor of the family.”

“What difference does that make? I still don’t have anything to say about it. What about you, though? And don’t say ‘what about me?’”

He suddenly got a guarded look. “There’s no one here… anywhere… for me.”

“Do you wish I had another sister?” He started to turn away, and I had another thought. “Thomas, do you like guys?”

“No.” He muttered something that sounded like, “I like dragons.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.” He walked over to Ekaterina, leaned down, and said something I couldn’t hear.

She gazed across at me, gazed up at him, and then nodded.

“I have to go now, Mr. Small,” Thomas said. “Thank you for your hospitality, and I’m sorry for your loss.”

“You’re welcome.” Dad glanced at me as if to ask “What’s this about?”

I shrugged.
It’s a strange, strange world we live in.

He walked with Thomas to the front door. Within a minute or so he returned.

Mina nudged my leg, and I looked down at her. “Do you need to go out, pup? Dad, I’m going to take Mina for a walk. Do you want me to take Harker too?”

Harker raised his head when he heard his name.

“If you wouldn’t mind?”

“Nope.”

“May we go too?” David asked.

“If your dad says it’s okay.” I went into the kitchen, with Mina and Harker trotting behind me, and I took the leashes down from a hook near the back door. The dogs waited patiently while I snapped the leashes to their collars.

“Daddy says we can go,” David informed me. As the day had progressed, I’d gotten the impression he did most of the talking.

“Okay. Stay on the sidewalk and don’t wander off.” That was what Dad had always told me when I was little, although I imagined they wouldn’t like being referred to as “little.”

We went out the back door and around to the street, and I should have realized it would happen. We hadn’t gotten more than a few yards down the sidewalk when Mrs. Andrews popped out of her house.

“Tyrell! It’s so good to see you visiting your father, and with so many friends! I haven’t even had a chance to say hello! I declare, I haven’t seen such comings and goings in your house in… well…
ever
! And a limousine! The only time I see a limousine in this neighborhood is for weddings, proms, and funerals. I know your prom was last year. You’re not getting married, are you?” She waggled her finger in what she probably thought was a playful manner but which was just annoying.

“No, Mrs. Andrews.” I could tell her I was gay—that might shut her up—but Dad had to live next door to her. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her about Matthew. “Actually, a couple of friends are getting married.”

“Would that be the Gentry-O’Hare nuptials?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m in the wedding party.”

“I’ll be at the church on Sunday. I won’t be going to the reception.” She frowned. Although she didn’t know the Gentrys, she probably felt she should have been invited anyway. Then she smiled down at David and Jonathan. “And who are these handsome young men?”

“We’re Ty’s brothers.” They returned her smile politely, but I wanted to groan. As far as Mrs. Andrews knew, Dad was a widower and had been one for almost nineteen years.

“Oh? How old are you?”

“We’re eight.”

“Oh, my, your father was a naughty man, Tyrell! How do you feel about having such young brothers?”

“I’m very pleased about it.” I hoped the shortness of my response would stop her questions, but I should have known better.

“How sweet!” she gushed, and she turned back to them. Was she going to ask who their mother was? I wouldn’t have put that past her. Fortunately, what she did ask was, “Will you be in the wedding party? You’d make such attractive junior ushers.”

David and Jonathan exchanged glances. “If we attended, we’d provide the music for the processional.” David’s expression said everyone should know that.

“But you’re so young for such an important responsibility!”

They exchanged glances again. “We’re very responsible,” David murmured.

Before she could question any of us further, I cut her off at the pass. “It was nice talking to you, Mrs. Andrews,” I lied, “but you’ll have to excuse us. The dogs are getting restless.” As if in response, Mina gave a soft woof and tugged on the leash.
Good girl!

“Oh. Very well. Don’t go too far, boys—it will be getting dark soon.”