HAPTER FOUR
In the morning, Lisa was surprised to find herself alone. She still had on her bra, but was naked underneath the sheets. She blushed again, remembering the passionate night she had shared with Ryder. Absently, she retrieved her blue panties and pulled them back on. Only for a moment, she touched herself, allowing her memory to remind her of what it felt like to have him inside her. It wrapped her stomach in a ball of tension, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable sensation, more like the feeling one has when they look over a cliff, the exhilaration, the danger, the implicit fictive leap off that precipice.
Straightening her skirt and blouse and putting her glasses back on, she wandered back into the kitchen and found William and Ryder already there at the table with another woman, this one muscular and trim. Almost punk, Lisa thought, noticing the tight Lycra tank-top and wiry muscles of her arms. Her face was small, and might’ve been attractive if it hadn’t been for the scowl. Her hair was long and silky black, but shaved to the skin on one side of her head, giving her the appearance of something out of a 90s post-apocalyptic film. Her cargo pants had too many buckles, too many pockets for weapons.
“You’re awake,” Ryder said with that same thin-lipped tempered smile.
She joined them at the table, sitting on her knees. She felt as if she were intruding.
“This is Amy,” Will said, indicating the woman. He had on less traditional clothing today, jeans and a collared shirt, but there was still that over-eager astuteness to him. “Ryder asked me if I could think of anyone who might be able to help us.”
“Pleasure,” Amy said, but her tone was less than convivial.
“Amy used to be a bodyguard,” Ryder further explained.
“More than that, I think I’ve gone up against these rogue bastards,” she said harshly, “but that’s just a guess. They’ve been plaguing the vampire nation recently, and I thought they might have belonged to someone on the inside.”
“You don’t now?” Lisa asked, adjusting her glasses.
“Not for certain,” Amy said, “the fact is, I’m not a bodyguard anymore. I failed to protect my master, and when that happened... I vowed I would track down the bastards who betrayed him. I did, but it took several years. And during those years, I had a lot of help from the Convent.”
“The Convent?” Lisa looked around the table for help.
Ryder shifted his weight. “An order of the vampire nation that goes back almost a thousand years, part of a religious institution that found its bearing in France. They’ve stayed out of the affairs of the global vampire nation, content in their isolation.”
“Bloody monks,” Amy said, “but still, they helped me when I needed them most… especially one man. Friar Courson, the abbot there. He’s a noble-born vampire, but spurned all attachments, went to live with the monks and found his spirituality there. I’m not one for religion, but he was a good guy…”
“I’m still not following,” Lisa said, uncertainly.
“If Friar Courson’s still there at the monastery, he might know something more about these vigilantes. He’s a history buff on all things vampire,” Amy said, and ducked her head, “but I’ll say this once, and once only. These assassins you’re after… they’re strong. Strong enough that I had a helluva time dealing with them. You’d better be prepared for what you’re up against.”
Ryder shrugged. “I have my orders, from the top,” he said without flinching, and looked at Lisa and William. “Without meaning to, I’ve kicked the hornet’s nest—the only thing any of us can do now is run, or look for a flamethrower.”
“You look like you run fast,” Amy smirked.
“Not when I don’t have to,” Ryder commented.
***
It took most of the morning for arrangements to be made, and while Ryder and William worked to figure out where Friar Courson’s monastery was and prepared, Lisa took the time to wander around the open courtyard and pagoda. She looked back once at the vampires stuck inside, with all the slatted doors closed. How strange to be afraid of the light, she thought. Her bare feet crunched under the gravel as she surveyed the old bonsais, and dipped a toe in the cold pond where a flurry of koi suddenly raced to nibble at it.
She giggled and pulled back, into the shadow of the overhanging porch, her legs draped over the wooden side. It was hard to imagine growing up here. Her own experience had been one of near poverty, though her parents had been intelligent and caring, and always tried to provide for her.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” a voice said, and she saw William come out of the house, sliding the slat shut again, and take a seat beside her.
“It is,” she mused, “lovely. Very idyllic. It actually makes me feel very calm, which is an unusual thing. My brain is usually a mess, working away.”
“Ryder told me about that. Must be a very useful gift,” the young man said, and she wondered if he had learned to smile from Ryder. His brown hair in the shade was almost chestnut, and she detected a happy-go-lucky aura from him.
“Useful, perhaps,” she grinned, “but look where it got me.”
“Ryder’ll figure something out,” Will said confidently, and nodded at his own statement as if he were finding it true, “and I’ll do whatever I can to help as well. He and Amy are just making the final preparations. We’ll fly to France later this evening. I know how strange all of this might seem. It must be quite overwhelming.”
Lisa nodded. “I imagine it must’ve been similar for you… to be, how did Ryder call it?”
“Changed?” he nodded. “Strange doesn’t begin to describe it—it was a huge adaptation. I almost got fried several times, I was so used to just walking outside.” He motioned at where the shade ended, like it was a terrible border. “It was a heavy cost to pay, but it was that or death. When you’re up against those odds… you always choose to keep going. Ryder taught me that, well before I got sick. And besides! I may not be able to endure sunlight anymore, but I’m stronger, quicker than I ever was. I never get sick. And… there’s still plenty of things to experience.”
Lisa nodded at all of this. She had never put herself in his position before. She wondered if she would have the same sort of strength, to choose to be a vampire, if she had been confronted with her own imminent demise. If it was Ryder who changed me, she thought provocatively, then shook her head. William smiled boyishly. Even with everything that’s happened to him, the things that he’s lost—his very humanity—he’s still upbeat about it, she realized.
It made her feel a bit cowardly, that she had appeared so weak in front of both of them. Yes, her life had undeniably taken a change for the worst but as she gazed at Will’s countenance, that bubbly energy of renewed, and savored, vitality, she vowed to try to be more like him. I owe it to myself, she thought.
“Thank you,” Lisa blurted.
“Thank you?” Will asked, “For what?”
She shook her head absently, and he opened his lips as if to say “ah,” but didn’t. There was some unspoken connection between them that didn’t need to be clarified with words. He had once been a human, just like her, someone as fragile. If anyone could empathize with her, it was him but he had done so without belittling her, and she was grateful.
“I know,” he said, propping himself up, “I’ll get us some tea! I have a new white peony and pear one I’ve been meaning to try out. Besides, I’m not very good with the whole… vampire-planning thing, and I’d probably just get in Ryder and Amy’s way.”
She nodded. “Sounds great,” she almost wanted to laugh. He really was a tea fanatic. “I’ll come and help you,” she replied, following him back inside.
As the day slowly dwindled down, Amy and Ryder finally finished their preparations, but still could be heard talking in the other room. Amy was brusque and to the point, and more than once through the paper thin walls she heard mention of the assassins, only words here and there, but enough for her to get the impression that they were a lot more formidable than the punks that had tried to attack her in the university parking lot.
They opted to take one of Ryder’s cars, located in the garage, and the four of them crowded into the narrow interior of a matte-black Porsche, Lisa looked up and saw the sun spreading its last golden rays into the clouds. Her heart was still thumping in her chest as they tore out of the Berkeley suburbs, and only started to slow down when they finally reached a private airport belonging to the Shinji Clan. As they became airborne, and the windows automatically tinted, she pulled at her borrowed outfit. The jeans, tattered at the knees, were Amy’s, as was the slightly oversized T-shirt and elephant-grey jacket. They all had a faint smell of nicotine on them that made Lisa cringe, but William had given her a thumb’s up.
“Very uh…,” he looked for the right word, “badass. But coming from Amy, I guess I wouldn’t expect anything less.” She gave a nod, but it still didn’t feel like her. When she’d looked at the clothes she’d brought from her apartment, they’d all been skirts and dresses, and Ryder had insisted she wear something more tactical.
What does that even mean? she wondered.
“You might want to get some rest,” William suggested, taking the seat opposite her. She looked up ahead at Ryder, who was again busy poring over maps and other pieces of information. They’d brought the reference books along but it seemed pointless considering she’d already memorized them.
Is it my imagination or is Ryder avoiding me? she wondered. Ever since this morning he had scarcely looked at her, although she granted that he had other things on his mind. Still, there seemed to be a detached silence between them, and it made her heart hurt. They had made love, and suddenly she felt him evading her.
William offered a drink, and she found it was whiskey. She wasn’t used to drinking, but it helped to calm her nerves, and she gave a polite smile. “He’s just concerned,” the Changed vampire replied, catching her glance.
She blushed, wishing she wasn’t so transparent. “What do you mean?” she asked, but her obliviousness sounded feigned.
“He’s not good at showing it. He’s probably the kindest guy I know, but… he’s awkward around women,” William offered, extending his own drink, his voice low enough so only she could hear. “He’s always been like that. Especially around women he likes.”
“I’m bad with relationships, too,” she admitted.
“Ah, I doubt that.” He winked. “It’s hard to know how to act sometimes. But I think you and him are similar at least in that: you both think too much. He feels guilty, about dragging you into this, about you becoming a target for whoever is behind this brotherhood of assassins. Him working tirelessly, to try and figure it out—the extent that it feels like he’s ignoring you? That’s just him trying to protect you.”
“He doesn’t need to work so hard,” she said, surprising herself, “and truth be told, it wasn’t even his fault. He actually saved me—well, twice—but it was me that offered to help him translate the texts. I don’t blame him for anything…”
“He probably knows that, on some level,” Will said.
“Maybe I should tell him,” she said, lifting her intonation.
The Changed took a sip and set his glass down. “I doubt it would work, especially with Amy’s disclosure about how dangerous these guys are, he won’t stop until you’re safe. I’ve seen that protective look in his eyes before,” Will explained, and Lisa almost asked where before she stopped herself. Of course, these two are as close as brothers. “But he obviously cares about you. More than you know. Hell, more than he even knows himself, the dullard. Alas, let him work. He’ll come along. In the meantime, here’s to France.”
He raised his glass and clinked it against hers, and she sipped again, its liquid warmth penetrating down to her belly. It felt good, and it did relax the muscles in her neck. She leaned back into the seat, and let the vibrations of the plane lull her to sleep.