Page 63 of The Vanishing
A winding trail of jagged steps looms before them. Detective Cuevas leads the ascent. “Almost there, gentlemen.”
Nino moves forward, but his chest is strained. This place is isolated—far away from anyone or anything familiar—and the strangeness of it weighs heavy in his mind. It’s as if they’ve come to the very ends of the earth, and the realization unsettles him.
What the hell was I thinking? What if the helicopter stops running and we’re stuck here… What if there’s something waiting for us in the house? What will we—
Haruka steps up beside him, crawling his fingers into Nino’s pocket to remove and grasp his hand.We’ll be fine. This will be over soon.
He inhales a deep breath and blows it out, taking comfort in the warmth and surety of Haruka’s hand gripping his own.
When the house stands before them, it appears even more derelict up close. The glass is missing from some windows and cracked like a spider’s web in others. The ones that are intact are dirty: filmy with dried mud, dust and raindrop stains.
“How did he get this house all the way out here?” Marcus asks.
“I don’t know, but it looks like he couldn’t afford the upkeep after it was built,” Detective Cuevas observes. “It’s damn near ready to be demolished.”
When they’re at the front door and on the rickety wooden porch, Detective Cuevas grabs the knob. She pushes, but it doesn’t budge. “Weird… this was open when we came before.” She turns to her deputy. “Did you lock this?”
“I don’t know how the heck I would do that without a key…”
She narrows her eyes. “Strange.”
“If I may?” Haruka asks, stepping forward.
“Of course.” The detective shifts aside, watching as Haruka’s eyes glow to life. He places his fingertips against the tarnished brass plate of the keyhole. Nino can sense his mate’s energy moving and interacting with the lock, examining it to understand its inner workings. A moment later there’s a loud click. Haruka wraps his long fingers around the knob, then pushes the door open, effortless.
“Very nice,” Detective Cuevas remarks. “I also could have had my deputy break it down.”
“We all have our methods.”
“I suppose so,” she says, stepping past him and into the house. “Sorry about yesterday, by the way… going off the fucking rails like that. Lajos is still refusing to feed, but he’s improved enough to where he can shout xenophobic bullshit about ranked vampires in broken speech patterns all day and night. Maybe I’ve let him get to me. Didn’t mean to take it out on you—and of course I know that money doesn’t equal happiness.”
“Apology accepted.” Haruka grins. “Although, you should know that most purebred wealth is tied up in very old property and land ownership. We do not have money to burn.”
Detective Cuevas reaches up to scratch her curly head. “I had no idea. You know, Lajos… That old nutcase is belittling and refusingfirst-genblood. By all accounts, first-gen vampire blood isgoodfor your average purebred. He won’t even acknowledge me when I try to talk to him—like I’m a peasant.”
“Not all purebreds hold such immoral and dogmatic views,” Haruka offers.
“Right… I get it.”
The inside of the house is somber and drab—dusky from the overcast light outdoors. With every step, the floors creak and whine, protesting all movement.
When they reach an empty drawing room covered in faded gold velvet damask wallpaper, the detective turns to them. “Alright, does either of you sense anything?”
“Yeah.” Nino nods. “From the second we landed.”
“Okay… so speak up about it, maybe?”
“The source is uncertain,” says Haruka. “The purebreds here have not vanished a second time, as you had suggested. Their energy is present, but the sensation is very weak… similar to a low frequency.”
Nino paces the large and dirty ornate rug with his hands in his jacket pockets. Inside the house feels even colder than outside. “It feels blocked by something—like a wall or a barrier. We can’t tell where it’s centered.”
“Well, already, it was worth bringing you here. My deputy and I couldn’t sense squat. Shall we split up? Roam the house a bit and see if you can get some clarification?”
They agree. The detective and Marcus head upstairs while Nino and Haruka remain on the ground floor. They wander through the drawing room, down a dark, narrow hallway, and end up in a large kitchen space.
As with the rest of the house, it’s cold here, darkened from the partly cloudy sky outside. The white appliances are like props from the 1950s and are backed by mint-green tiling on the walls. Haruka tries a light switch upon entering, but it doesn’t work.
“This is so confusing.” Nino wanders past a large island counter in the center of the room and toward a small window. “I feel the hum of purebred energy, but… it isn’t sharp like the normal sensation.” Despite the setting, the view through the glass is breathtaking. The mountain range meets a blueish-orange skyline filled with stormy clouds.
