Moonlight Madness - Where Evil Lurks

Chapter 1

Well I just heard the news today,
Seems my life, is gonna change.

Lani, Josef, Elka and Colleen watched as the chopper took off from the beach stirring up a froth of sand in the wash from the rotors. Lani closed her eyes as she felt the fine particles sting her face, almost like sunburn.

The sun, she and Beth and Robbi would never again sit on this beach under the sun and luxuriate in the golden rays. The heat was a comforting thing, soothing. Almost a placebo for whatever doctors were prescribing for anxious patients now days. Now, Beth would never feel it again, not without pain.

She wiped her face, smoothing away the grit of the sand only to realize that it had clung to the tracks of the tears that she had cried. She walked out to the water and splashed some onto her face, unwilling to venture into the house where her friend had been.

Josef started to follow her, concerned as to what she planned to do but Elka reached out and stopped him, her cool hand tugging on his arm. “Give her a few minutes Josef,”

He nodded but watched her still, not sure if she was planning on taking a permanent swim or just wanted some private time. His heart broke for her, watching what had happened to Beth. “She should never have witnessed that,” he told Elka and Colleen.

“It’s not just that Josef; she killed someone tonight. Did you forget that? It might have been someone who attacked her best friend, but I’m sure she’s never done such a thing before.” Colleen whispered the words, her heart aching for the human girl who seemed so lost.

Elka looked around, at the dying fire, Mick’s jacket and the remains of the party that littered the beach. Her mind also thought about the bathroom in the house; someone definitely needed to clean it up.

As she vocalized her thoughts and Colleen nodded and said, “We can’t call the Cleaners on this one, let me go and take a look, if you want to work out here. Don’t forget the blood in the sand; you should pour some water on it to wash it away or haul it out into the water; that’s probably best.”

“Okay,” Elka said as she began picking up the things that weren’t disposable. She saw the remains of the shoes in the fire and wondered what they should do with them. The fire was only smoldering and wasn’t hot enough to finish burning them. She looked at them pointedly and then at Josef, an unvoiced question in her eyes.

Josef shrugged, “Tar pits maybe? Not sure. Wrap them in Mick’s jacket; I’m sure he won’t want it anymore. We’ll figure it out later.” He turned back to Lani, standing knee deep again in the Pacific. He watched as her shoulders shuddered with her silent tears and at her hands which were balled tightly into fists. As hard and tough as he tried to be, one of his weaknesses was women’s tears. They just tore him up and watching Lani was no different.

Josef could fix a lot of things, but this thing? He didn’t have a clue what to do to make it better. He knew they had a lot to do still this night and while he wanted to give Lani time, it was running short. He glanced at his watch; a few minutes before ten. It felt as if it should be much later than this he thought.

Elka had cleaned up most of the mess and he said, “I’m going up to get Mick’s car. I think he left the keys in it; I’m hoping anyway. I’ll move it down here so that we can get her into it.”

“Good idea,” she told him as she scooped more sand onto the remains of the fire. She looked around, she needed a bucket or something to carry the sand in to the water and to pour a couple of bucket full’s over the fire too. I should have done that before I smothered it with sand she thought.

Elka found a bucket under the kitchen sink and carried the bloody sand down the beach and dumped it into the water, hopefully out of Lani’s sight and then she checked the fire too. The beach looked untouched she decided as she headed back into the house to see if Colleen needed any help. By that time Josef was back with the car and had taken up his stance again watching Lani, a pensive look on his face as he rocked back and forth on his heels in the shifting sand. The beach was never a place she would ever have pictured Josef at, and yet, here he was. The Armani suit somehow made him look quite comfortable, as if he were a model posing in the sand, except for the look on his face that is.

Inside she found Colleen stuffing Beth’s clothes into a plastic bag. She mentioned Mick’s jacket and the shoes and Colleen asked her to bring them in too so Elka headed out to grab them. Josef had walked out to where Lani was standing and stood quietly by her. Lani was hugging his jacket tightly to her but otherwise they weren’t touching or talking, just standing quietly in the surf.

“How is she?” Colleen asked when Elka came back in.

“Still not saying a word, just standing there in the water. I think she is in shock.”

Colleen nodded and took the jacket with the shoes rolled up in it and stuffed it down with the clothes before tying it tightly closed.

“What do we do with those? We can’t risk them being found.” Elka said.

Colleen nodded and told her, “I’ll take care of them; no one will ever find a trace.”

Elka figured it was probably a cleaner thing and nodded agreement, happy to leave that task to her. Everything looked pristine and both women nodded as they checked that no traces of what had happened here remained. After grabbing Lani’s and Beth’s purses they turned off the lights and found a key to the door on Lani’s key chain. They walked out to the beach and saw that Josef was walking Lani back onto the sand.

“I drove my car,” Elka said, “So I’ll head on out. Colleen, would you like to ride with me?”

Colleen watched Josef and Lani and decided that she should ride with them, in case Josef needed help with her. “No, I think I’ll ride back with them,” she said, motioning to the pair who was walking slowly towards them.

“Might be a good idea,” Elka agreed.

Josef had heard the whole conversation and nodded, agreeing with the decision. Elka raised her hand in farewell and left.

Lani looked up when she heard the purr of the engine in Elka’s car. Her own was in the garage and she headed towards it so she could drive home.

“Hey, why don’t you ride with me and Colleen back into town? We can come and get your car in the morning, okay?”

Hearing him speaking directly to her sort of shook her out of her reverie and for the first time in the last half an hour she looked around her, seeing that the beach was clean, no traces of the party remained. As if it never happened…

“Okay,” she said, heading straight for the Benz. Colleen was already in the car, sitting in the back seat and waiting for Josef and Lani. She could keep her eye on Lani better from back there she had decided.

Josef opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in and settled onto the leather seat. She felt sure that Mick would not appreciate her sitting there being soaked in salt water as she was but right now she didn’t care. She could reimburse him later for the cleaning and reconditioning.

She took a deep breath and leaned against the windows, staring blankly out as the world rushed by. Tonight she had killed someone – tonight her best friend had died and been reborn, of sorts. It should all balance and yet somehow it didn’t.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



When the helicopter landed at the small airport Mick climbed out, still holding Beth in his arms, clutching her to him tightly, as if she were the most precious gift. Her heart was beating a steady but very slow rhythm; still, it was a little faster than normal for a vamp, but it could be because her body was getting used to its new existence. She breathed in and out slowly; small and shallow breaths that gave him false hope that he hadn’t actually took her human life.

But he had. He had promised her he would do it when the time was right. Oh God, why did it have to be now he lamented? Why couldn’t she have made it a few more years before this thing happened to her?

Why?

Because he had failed her. He hadn’t kept her safe and now she was forced to live in his world. Too soon, much too soon. The lump of white hot pain burned his throat and its accompanying tears made his eyes feel on fire. He swallowed hard, trying to force the lump down, the tears away as he focused on the task at hand – getting Beth to Seattle so she could rest.

He climbed aboard the jet, still carrying Beth as if she were weightless. He saw Grant, Josef’s co-pilot waiting to greet him, standing aside so that Mick could make his way into the cabin.

“Welcome aboard Mr. St. John. Steven and I will be seeing you to Seattle tonight. I’m very sorry about the circumstances.”

Mick nodded briefly as he made his way to the couch, settling on it and laying Beth down next to him. He smoothed the blanket around her and worried because she felt warm, too warm and decided that he should put her into the freezer after they got in the air.

Grant walked back into the cabin, carrying two glasses of fresh blood for Mick. “Mr. Kostan said to be sure you drank these Mr. St. John; he wanted me to remind you that when Mrs. St. John awakens you will need it.”

As Mick stared at the glasses on the tray his stomach turned, doing flip-flops and he definitely felt sick but he recognized that Josef was right. When Beth woke up she would need to feed immediately and he needed to be prepared. He said, “Thank you Grant. Can you set them in the holder please,” referring to the built in cubby that kept beverages from tipping.

“Certainly. There are no attendants on board tonight,” he said kindly.

Mick knew that was because all of Josef’s flight attendants were human and if Beth awoke during the flight the last thing they needed to worry about was her going after someone.

“Mr. Kostan also wanted me to give you this information. Instead of landing at SeaTac we are landing at the Brighton Airfield, north of Seattle. A helicopter will be meeting us there and will fly you over to the west bank near your house. He feels this will work better, again in case the young lady should wake up. Your caretaker will meet us there.”

“Thank you Grant. After we get in the air I’m going to move Mrs. St. John into the freezer; she definitely feels too warm and I’m a bit concerned about her.” As he spoke he unwrapped the blanket from her, hoping that would help a bit.

“Of course Mr. St. John. I’ll go and turn it on and then I’ll be heading forward so we can get into the air. If you need anything, please press the call button.”

Mick nodded and sat back in the seat, closing his eyes and trying not to re-live the past hour or so. But somehow the memories would not be pushed out and he lived them in vivid Technicolor, the sights and sounds making him wince.

As he and Josef had made the run to the beach all he could focus on was Beth, lying motionless and Elka and Lani next to her. He had vaguely been aware that Kelly had fallen into the fire but he wasn’t sure exactly how that happened. It didn’t matter really; all that mattered was that she was dead for real this time.

He should be raging angry with Josef right now but he wasn’t. He knew that Josef had honestly believed that Kelly was dead. Mick knew he wouldn’t want to be Katrina when Josef got a hold of her.

They were in the air and Grant spoke over the intercom, “Mr. St. John, you can move Mrs. St. John now if you like.”

Mick pushed the button and said, “Yes, I will. Thanks Grant.” He finished the last couple of drinks in the glass and then stood up and gathered Beth gently in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. True to his word Grant had turned the freezer on and he first laid Beth on the bed and undressed her before laying her in the freezer. He leaned over and kissed her chilly lips and then closed the lid with a soft click.

He felt as if he had killed her himself. Shutting that lid, its resounding click felt like a keening death toll; a door that shut itself on his Beth’s life. He sat down on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands and let the tears fall.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



Tim watched as the cargo chopper lifted and swooped out over the black water of the sound, its whump, whump, whump sound fading into the night. He headed back into the house and made sure everything was ready for Mick and Beth.

Mary was inside, storing the blood that the chopper had brought in the hidden fridge. She slid the panel shut and then gripped the edge of the counter and took a deep breath. Even though she didn’t need one, it felt good, calming for her in the midst of these tragic circumstances. She heard her husband come in the door and hastily wiped away the tears, knowing that it wouldn’t fool him because he would be able to scent them in the air.

Tim immediately knew that his mate was crying. She was very fond of young Beth and was very upset over this sudden situation. Kostan had explained briefly, enough to let them know that Mick had to turn her and he was upset about it.

He walked up behind Mary and spoke to her in their native Cheyenne, something that they both found comforting. “Nemehotatseme matamaha,” he whispered against her neck, kissing it lightly.

“I love you too old man,” she returned to him, choking the words out as more tears fell. “Vaotsevahe-kase’eeheheve vai.”

“Yes, she is very young for this, but they will love each other enough to make it okay,” he answered. He caught the sound of the other chopper coming in and said, “Dry your tears, they are here. Come…” he said, holding his hand out to her so they could go back down to the beach.

They watched the chopper land and waited while the door was opened so Mick could step down, Beth in his arms. Mary’s breath drew in sharply when she realized that Beth still wasn’t alert. Tim’s arm around her shoulder pulled her a bit tighter against him in a comforting gesture.

Mick walked silently up the beach, the bright moonlight easily showing him the way, even if he didn’t have vampire sight. He spotted Tim and Mary waiting at the top of the path for him but kept his eyes determinedly focused on the house in the distance.

As he neared them Tim nodded his head in greeting. Mary drew in a sharp breath at how pale Beth looked and started to reach for her but a low growl emanated from Mick and she hastily pulled her hand back in shock. This was a Mick she didn’t know.

“It’s his mate Mary; he is still protecting her,” Tim whispered against her ear. He remembered how he had felt when he turned her; he wouldn’t have let anyone else touch her.

They followed Mick up the steps to the yard and Tim moved ahead to open the door to the house for him. “Josef had a new freezer sent for you, it arrived about half an hour ago; it’s a double wide and pretty fancy. I’ve turned it on and it’s ready for her.”

Mick didn’t acknowledge the words, only headed to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Tim didn’t follow but said, “I have some other information for you from Josef. After you get her settled, come on down and we’ll talk.”

From the top of the stairs Mick nodded his head before heading down the hall to the bedroom. Tim sighed and shook his head; even when Mick first came here he wasn’t quite like this.

1997

Michael Talkingbird had called Tim and told him that they had someone coming to look at the lodge and would Tim please be available to show it. Tim had watched as the black Mercedes had pulled up the driveway and came to a smooth stop. A tall, dark haired man stepped from the car and Tim could see that his spirit was wounded. It was apparent in the hunch of his shoulders and the pain etched across his drawn face. And his eyes, well if it was true that they were the windows to someone’s soul then this man’s soul was wide open and torn apart.

As he drew closer both men recognized the truth of the other and Mick let out an unconscious sigh. Tim Tallchief was a vampire; maybe that could be a good thing.

Tim walked forward, his hand extended and said, “Welcome to Seattle Mr. Sandoval. I’m Tim Tallchief, the caretaker here and I’ll show you around the lodge.”

Mick took his hand and shook it firmly, taking in the imposing height of the other man. He had to be at least 6’8” if he was an inch, broad-shouldered and well muscled. Mick could tell that he was old, in vampire years but what his human age had been when he was turned wasn’t very obvious. Anywhere between 45 and 70 Mick guessed.

Mick shifted his focus to the house itself, if you could call it that. “This is big, impressive. Why are they selling for such a low price? And how many bedrooms are in this place?”

“It was originally built as a lodge, for paying guests. It has 6 bedrooms and seven bathrooms. And it also has one hell of a view of downtown Seattle on clear nights. Real pretty. They guy who built it chose to ignore the ‘no game hunting’ clause in the land contract and eventually left when he realized the tribe wouldn’t give in on that. This lodge sits on 5,000 acres of a 20,000 acre preserve that belong to the tribe. Are you agreeable to the restrictions of the purchase?”

“Absolutely,” Mick agreed. “The ad said it was 5, 000 acres, secluded with a large house. It sure didn’t sound like this.”

“Is it more than you want to deal with?” Tim questioned. He hoped that Mick didn’t feel that way; there was something about the young man he liked.

“No. For the price it’s a steal. I feel guilty even contemplating it.”

Tim smiled and nodded. “They are more worried about finding someone who will respect their beliefs Mr. Sandoval. I think you might be a good fit.”

“Mick, please,” Mick said as they walked up the steps to the front door. He waited while Tim unlocked it and they stepped into the house. It was beautiful he decided; he wrote the check that day.



In the kitchen Mary pulled down three mugs and filled them with some of the blood that the chopper had brought. She sat them on the table and then sat down, picking at her fingernails nervously as she waited for Tim to come and sit down with her.

He took her hand and raised it to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on it. “He’ll be okay Mary. Give him time.”

She nodded and sipped at the mug of O+. They could hear sounds from upstairs, muffled movement and then quiet for a few minutes. Finally they heard his steps on the bare boards of the stairs sounding loud in the quiet stillness of the house. He had pulled on a different shirt from the one he’d been wearing when they arrived. It had had blood stains on the arm of it and was probably a sad reminder to him of what had happened.

Mick sat down at the table and looked at the mug in front of him. He wasn’t really thirsty; he’d drank two glasses on the plane. He held it between his palms and traced a finger over the rim, anything to avoid looking at Tim and Mary.

He’d growled at her; he was ashamed.

As if sensing some of his reticence Mary spoke up. “It’s alright Mick; you were just taking care of your mate.”

He looked at her for the first time, lifting large fathomless eyes to her and she saw the tears that glistened in them. “I – I…” He couldn’t speak yet he thought at he tried swallowing a lump down in his throat; it felt about the size of a tennis ball.

Mary reached across the table and took his hand, squeezing it lightly. He held on to it tightly as Tim began to speak.

Tim nodded at the mug in front of Mick and said, “Drink up. You know that when she wakes up the first thing she’ll want is to feed.”

Mick nodded almost imperceptibly and finally took a sip of the blood, choking it down for their sakes. And Tim was right; he’d need it when she woke up. IF she woke up. It was taking a long time, too long he thought.

“Josef sent the blood when he sent the freezer and reminded us to make sure you feed. He’ll be sending more tomorrow along with some clothes for you both and personal items you might need. He told me to tell you that he and Lani were handling things there so you didn’t need to worry. But he also said to give her folks a call tomorrow and not to forget to call him and Lani as well.”

Mick took another sip and this time it went down a bit easier. He should have known that Josef would have things in hand. He and maybe Lani would be the ones to tell Dorothy and Clark and Mick hated that but it wasn’t something that should be done over the phone. He thought of all the others as well; Logan and Ben. What the hell did they tell Ben? Whatever it was they would have to do it soon.

Tim watched as it all played across Mick’s face. He knew that Mick felt stunned about it all. Josef had told him the basic story of what had happened but maybe Mick needed to talk. “Mick, do you want to talk about it nae’ha?”

Mick looked up when he recognized the Cheyenne word for son. He felt as if he’d come home, that maybe it would all be okay. He told them what had happened, of his guilt for not protecting her and let the pain and the tears flow as he did so. They cried with him and suddenly it didn’t seem quite as bad as it had a little while ago.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



When Tim and Mary left Mick climbed the stairs once again and headed into the bedroom. It was 4 am and he was tired he realized. He took his clothes off and headed into the freezer room, closing the door securely after him and making sure it was locked. He stood for a moment looking at the freezer that Josef had bought; it was the Cadillac of freezers Mick had to admit.

He pushed a button and the lid lifted and he settled down next to Beth and wondered how to close it from inside. It was a hydraulic door and he was hesitant to just pull it shut. After a minute or so of running his hands over the interior his fingers brushed the lid and a panel lit up with a ‘close’ button on it. He touched it and the lid closed down, quietly and another button lit up, asking if he wanted it locked. He touched that button and heard a soft click and he stared at the display overhead. He found temperature controls (it was set on 32) and other buttons on the touch pad he wasn’t sure what to do with. Volume he wondered? He sighed and settled against the pad; it was some kind of gel or similar material and was very comfortable. He’d have to get them a freezer like this at home he decided.

He looked over at Beth who seemed to be resting comfortably. She was breathing occasionally, a holdover from her human life. Still pale (which was to be expected) her lips held the slightest touch of pink to them. She looked peaceful and he was thankful for that. He closed his eyes and let himself rest.



OOOOOOOOOOOO


Welcome to this place,
I’ll show you everything.


Beth’s eyes snapped open suddenly. She was cold; no, not just cold, she was freezing – literally. She looked around her and realized Mick was next to her and they were in a freezer.

It all came back to her, the party on the beach, her being attacked. She wondered where Elka was? Surely Elka had turned her, otherwise she wouldn’t have made it. Mick wasn’t there, was he? Foggy memories began to flood her brain and she thought that maybe Mick had been there. But did he turn her? Shouldn’t she feel some kind of instant bond with her sire? She felt her mouth, to see if she had fangs, but nothing felt different. She decided they only came down when you were hungry.

She couldn’t think, she was freezing. Her body was one huge goose bump and she needed to get out of the cold and into a warm bath or something. She didn’t want to disturb Mick but she had to get out of here before she turned into a popsicle. After feeling along the side for a release or handle she sighed in frustration. Finally she pushed at the lid and a light display came on. She saw ‘unlock’ and pushed it and then hit the ‘open’ button. The lid slid quietly open and she sat up as a rush of warm air from the room hit her, making her shiver.

At the sound of the lid lifting Mick opened his eyes and brushed the frost away as he saw Beth sitting on the side of the freezer. “Beth,” he said, his heart flooding with relief to see her sitting there. She turned around and gave him a grin.

She, Beth St. John was a vampire! She laughed, deciding this wasn’t going to be bad at all.



To be continued.