Pretty When She Dies

“Are you laughing at me?” Samantha pouted and smacked him, her keys jingling in her hand.



“No,” he said somberly. “Let's go in and talk to Cian. But there is a good chance Amaliya won't leave.”



“Then we stake her tomorrow,” Samantha said firmly. “Besides, aren't you supposed to yell at him for having another vampire in the city?”



“Something like that,” Jeff agreed.



Samantha entered the alarm code and unlocked the door. Thrusting it open, she stomped inside. “Cian, it's me. Where are you? We need to talk.”



Jeff entered slowly behind her, looking around with curiosity. Movie posters, some funky Mexican artwork, and very modern furniture filled the apartment. A massive desk with computer gear on it drew his attention. The last vampire lair he had been in was a converted basement at the bottom of a high rise in Chicago. That had been an exceptionally nasty vampire who chose only children as his victims. This apartment just looked like the place of any successful computer geek.



Samantha's boot heels clicked sharply on the wood floor as she searched without fear or trepidation for her fiancé. Even Jeff didn't feel particularly anxious. Cian and his father had a long friendship during his father's life and if Amaliya was dangerous, he was sure Cian would keep her under control.



But his primary concern was that Amaliya's presence meant The Summoner was nearby. That death and destruction. Jeff worried about the large homeless population in Austin. The Summoner could already be up to his old tricks and it would take awhile for it to be noticeable if his victims had no one to miss them. By now, The Summoner could have a nice little army of undead minions.



Curious, Jeff walked over and peered down at the state of the art computers. They made his aging Dell computer look archaic. His brow furrowed a tad when he realized one of the monitors was on. It had a map drawn up of a tiny town around three hours west of Austin.



“Samantha, I don't think they're here,” Jeff said as he slid the cursor over and clicked on the print button.



She was halfway up the stairs and stopped. “Why?”



“There is a map on his computer of a town out West. I know that town. It's abandoned. Nothing there but falling down buildings.” The printer hummed and coughed, then spat out a copy of the map.



She stomped her foot. “Dammit. Why would they go there?”



Jeff sighed softly. “It sounds like a perfect place for them to go meet The Summoner, doesn't it?”



Her expression instantly became distraught and she scampered across the floor to the computer to look at the map. “Oh, no! He's going to kill Cian because of that stupid bitch! Where the hell is Roberto?”



“I guess Roberto went with them,” Jeff said as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was unsure of what to do next. The whole situation was complicated and increasingly dangerous.



Samantha looked at him with wide eyes and said in a trembling voice, “We have to save Cian.”



Jeff looked up at her in disbelief. “Do you have any idea how dangerous The Summoner is? No hunter that has set out against him has come back alive. We just can't go rushing after them and expect to rescue them from the most dangerous vampire in history.”



“I thought that was Dracula,” she said with utter sincerity.



Jeff laughed despite the seriousness of the situation and sat down in the chair before Cian's computer. “Well, he's not the one we have to worry about right now.”



“So? We should go there right now! Let's go!”



“Look, Samantha, I didn't have a problem coming here to talk to Cian because he was my father's friend. But there is no way I am traveling, in the middle of the night, toward what may be the lair of The Summoner. If we go, we go in the daylight.”



“But he could be dead by then,” Samantha protested.



“At night, that is when the vampires are at their pinnacle of power. The Summoner is a vampire and a necromancer. That makes him doubly dangerous.” Jeff looked at the flustered young woman with his most calm expression, but his stomach was in knots.



Samantha stomped her foot and turned away from him, but he could tell she understood.



“We'll go first thing in the morning. It's our best chance to locate them and rescue them and perhaps kill The Summoner. But to go at night is suicide.”



It was then that the phone resting on a table near them began to ring.



Samantha snatched it up and said, “Cian!”



Jeff stood up and moved toward her, straining to hear the voice on the other end.



“No, Amaliya isn't here. Who is this?” Samantha was frowning even more. “Her grandmother?” Samantha looked startled.



Jeff gently took the phone from her. “Hello? How can I help you?”



“I want to speak to my granddaughter. Is this Cian?” The woman had a slight Mexican accent.



“No, this is Jeff. Cian and Amaliya are not here.”



“I'm worried about her. Did you see her today or yesterday? She didn't answer her phone and now I call and you answer!” The old woman's voice was full of fear.



“Actually, I haven't met her yet. I'm a friend of Cian's fiancée and we were coming to visit them tonight.” Jeff shrugged slightly as Samantha frowned.



“Did that bad man get her?” The old woman sounded close to crying.



“What do you know about this bad man?”



The woman didn't answer, but spoke to someone in Spanish. There was a long pause.



“Hello?” It was a male voice this time, with a West Texas accent.



“Yes, who is this?” Jeff felt his confusion mounting. Amaliya was not an ordinary vampire if she had actually visited her own family and not killed them in the madness of the first days.



“Who is this?” The voice was strong and a little belligerent.



Jeff felt his patience waning, but he said calmly. “I am a friend of Cian's fiancée. We came to the apartment looking for him and Amaliya, but they're not here.”



“Did Sumner get her?” The man's voice was now alarmed.



“You know about The Summoner?” Jeff was flabbergasted.



“Professor Sumner? Yeah. He made her into a vampire. If you know this Key-inn guy then you gotta know they're vampires, right?”



Jeff moved to sit down again, feeling a little overwhelmed. Never in his life had he met such a group of people. Usually, people did not believe in vampires. He could hear the two voices on the other end talking swiftly in Spanish.



“Who is this again?” Jeff finally asked, breaking through the conversation on the other end.



“Sergio, her cousin. Look, my grandmother is frantically worried and we just hit Austin. Can we meet you guys somewhere? We're worried and it sounds like there is a good reason to be.”



Jeff' liked the lower timber of the man's voice. He sounded competent and strong, like Jeff's father. “Yeah. Let's do that. Why don't we meet at Kerby Lane on South Lamar? Do you know where that is?”



When Sergio told him no, Jeff quickly gave him directions while Samantha paced back and forth in front of him, wringing her hands.



“All right, we'll see you within the hour,” Jeff said, and hung up.



“What is going on?”



“It's Amaliya's grandmother and cousin. They came to Austin to rescue her,” he answered.



This whole situation was growing more and more bizarre and he had no idea how he was going to keep the three of them from running off and doing something crazy. He had no emotional investment in the situation other than making sure Cian continued to honor his father's agreement, but he had to admit to himself, he was growing fond of Samantha. Since last night, he could see that her inner core had been laid bare. Her chirpy self was diminished and he could really see her steel.



“So we're meeting with them?” She fussed with the collar of her pink shirt and looked at him with a very strained expression.



“I don't think it will hurt. They're here to save her like we're here to save Cian.” Jeff reached out to her. “Come on. It won't hurt to at least meet with them.”



With a soft explosion of breath, she shook her head. “This isn't supposed to be happening. It was all okay a few days ago. We were going to be married!”



“I know. Come on, Sam. Really. We can't do anything more here.”



She looked close to crying, but nodded her head. Reluctantly, she took his offered hand.



Jeff gently led her out of the apartment that was empty and devoid of life and quietly shut the door behind them.



***



Kerby Lane was quite busy when they arrived. The late dinner crowd was out and they had to wait to get a table. The waitress was just about to lead them to their seats when a tall man and a small Mexican woman came in the door.



“Sergio?” Jeff asked.



“Yes. Yes.” The man came forward and thrust out his huge hand. “You're Cian's friends?”



“His fiancée,” Samantha muttered.



Jeff could hear the fading hope in her voice and he squeezed her arm reassuringly. Shaking hands with Sergio, he glanced toward the tiny woman obviously sizing him up.