Page 56 of Sleeping With the Vampire

“About three days ago, I was at the house, packing a few last things before coming up here when a car pulled up. A strange man said he had you in the back and that you needed a doctor as quickly as possible. We drove you to town, where you spent a night in the hospital. The doctor operated there. We brought you here yesterday.”

I was trying to process the fact that I had spent three days unconscious.

“Who brought me?”

My mother whispered, “Someone from King Lucca’s guard. He said they had rescued you from some vampire’s nest.”

“Costello?”

She shook her head, sadly. “He didn’t make it.”

I felt my chest constrict.

“He came to help me, he saved me,” I said, choking up. I fought back the tears. I wasn’t going to cry like a little baby.

“I can’t believe he died there.”

“He loved you, he was looking out for you. It was the best way to go,” she said. “You almost died too,” my mother remindedme. “If Lucca hadn’t brought you here, you would have died for sure.”

I didn’t say anything straight away. I had no memory of Lucca being there or helping me.

“He could’ve taken you to his place, but he brought you here. That was …considerate. To bring you home. He knew you would be taken care of properly here. Among your own people.”

I swallowed hard.

“What is this place?”

My mother closed her eyes. “A kind of bomb shelter. This place has been up here for years, in case we need it. The people from town have spent the past few days rigging it up with generators and bringing water. Everyone in town has been evacuated.

I couldn’t believe it. I tried to sit upright, but intense stomach pain wouldn’t allow it. I could barely breath as the spasms twisted through my chest.

“What about your orchids?” I asked.

My mother looked away. “I rigged a water supply,” she said, her voice small. “But they don’t need that much water. They are hardier than we think.” But her voice sounded soft, the words melting away.

She lay down next to me on a thin mattress. I saw that we had a little corner of what appeared to be a cave. there was a crude ledge carved into rock, onto which beds were made. There were crates and boxes filled with food.

I wanted to ask her more questions but I could see she was asleep and didn’t want to bother her. I lay back and watched people walking past, carrying bottles of water and supplies, making their own little camping areas. I could not believe it had come to this, the world was changing in front of my eyes.

I thought of Lucca and our last meeting, the fight we’d had.

In spite of that, he had come to save me. The bond between us was stronger than I’d realized.

“Hey,” someone said. I looked up and recognized Joe, the man we met in the Citadel.

“Glad to see you survived.”

He sat down next to me, kept his head down. “Word is, you took out Chakrat.”

I nodded. “That is a victory for us.” He nodded and made a fist of victory, shaking it.

“Where is Dominic?” I asked.

Joe shook his head. “He’s safe, for now. But nobody must know where he is.”

“Is he okay?”

Joe looked at me strangely. I told him what I knew and he nodded slowly.

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