Companions Of The Night Part 11

"1 understand " Kerry wriggled her hand free and pushed her hair back from her forehead, then she put both hands in her lap.

"Just be ready to hand it to me," Marsala said- "And I 183.

probably iyil! sqy 'it,' rather than 'gun,' which might or might not give us another second or so of surprise. Whatever you do, don't let him separate us."

"All right"

Then, before Kerry was ready for it, Marsala stood. "We might as well get started. The closer we get to his cutoff time, the more nervous he's going to get, the more eager he's going to be to do it fast-which gives us less of a chance to turn the tables on him. Steady now." He took her elbow to help her get to her feet, "It's more clear cut than you think.

It's good versus evil no matter how attractively the evil .dis- guises itself.""Fine," Kerry said. He was right, she knew he was right: Did he have to be so self-righteous about it?

"Just don't let him confuse you," Marsala warned.

THE STUDENT UNION was situated in the middle of the campus, easy access for those who lived and went to school in the surrounding buildings, which meant that there were no parking lots right nearby. Which meant that Marsala could have parked in any of several places.

Which meant that Ethan must have been following her all along and been waiting for them, even though Kerry hadn't heard a thing, hadn't seen a thing.

Because, suddenly, he was there, materializing out of the shadows as Marsala leaned to unlock the car door, his arm crossing in front of Marsala so that his open palm rested against Marsala's chin, the other hand placed behind the professor's neck- The fact that he obviously hadn't trusted her, combined with the fact that she had just betrayed him, served to bring t84 the color to her cheeks. Was his eyesight good enough to be able to tell?

"I could kill you here and now," Ethan warned Marsala, "though in principle I'm against leaving dead bodies strewn about parking lots."

Kerry saw Marsala's eyes s.h.i.+ft to her, but he didn't say anything, and he didn't struggle Ethan, standing behind, had no way to see He kept one hand under Marsala's chin but ran the other along Marsala's torso. Kerry could tell he found something by the way he reached into one of Marsala's pockets,A srconJ gun? Kerry wondered. Didn't Marsala trust her either?

But what Ethan pulled out was something much smaller, and not at all s.h.i.+ny. It took her several seconds, and then it was the smell that told her: a handful of garlic cloves- With an expression of mild disgust, which may have been for nothing more than the smell, Ethan let them drop. "Cet in the backseat," he ordered. "Kerry, you drive."

Marsala handed her the keys. She couldn't tell from his face what he wanted her to do.

Ethan got in the back with him.

What was she supposed to do if Ethan attacked him there, drinking his blood while she was behind the wheel? Marsala's gun weighted down the jacket, so it hung lower on the right- hand side.

"Ethan?" Could he hear the tremor in her voice? Would it make him suspicious?

"His house," Ethan said.

It would help if she could read his expression- When Marsala was talking, she could recognize his emotions: hate 165.

for the vampires, tenderness for his son, antic.i.p.ation mixed with fear at the thought of having this finally done. But she couldn't tell what Ethan was feeling, whether it was anger at Regina's killer, or satisfaction because he'd caught him, or simple bloodl.u.s.t.

What should I do? she wondered Sitting behind the steering wheel, it took Kerry several seconds to realize she couldn't follow Ethan's instructions, even if she wanted to. "It's a stick s.h.i.+ft," she said, "I don-""Push in the clutch with your left foot," Ethan told her, "then turn the key."

Nothing happened.

"Do it again," Ethan instructed. "Keep the clutch in."

This time the car started.

"All right, put the car in gear: pull the stick toward your leg, then straight back. There's a diagram on the ball- You want to go from P to one."

Kerry did exactly what Ethan said, and nothing happened.

She pressed harder on the accelerator, and the engine raced, but still the car didn't move.

"Ease up on the clutch," Ethan said. "Slowly."

The car shudder-hopped several feet.

"More gas," Ethan advised, The car lurched forward and Kerry slammed on the brake The engine stalled. "I hate this," she said.

'Try again"

The fourth or fifth time the car stalled. Ethan finally gave up, "All right," he said- "Kerry, you get in the back. We'll ride in front."

She'd been afraid that he would abandon her there in the parking lot, which would leave Marsala weaponless and on 186his own. But the fact that he wanted her along strengthened Marsalas claim that Ethan planned to kill her, too, once he'd gotten rid of Marsala Ethan pulled Marsala out of the car. He opened the front pa.s.senger door, obviously intent on getting in fint and then pulling Marsala in after him, which would entail crawling over the stick s.h.i.+ft-but that way at least Marsala wouldn't be alone in the front seat. However, taking up the entire pa.s.senger seat was a toolbox, the huge kind, such as Kerry would have imagined a professional construction worker having "I'll move it," Kerry offered. She'd gotten out of the driver's seat and circled around to the right side of the car, but Ethan-stilt holding on to Marsala with his right hand-had already leaned in to get it out of the way himself Kerry saw him freeze, then turn to Marsala. She looked over his outstretched arm. At first she couldn't tell what had happened, except that the cover had come up- Then she realized what was in the box- at least a half dozen pointed, two-foot-long stakes, a mallet, a silver crucifix, and-by the smell-more garlic at the bottom. On top of it all was a hatchet, no doubt the one Marsala had used on Regina Seeing the hatchet, imagining Marsala watching Regina die in the sunlight and then chopping off her head, Kerry felt her resolve begin to melt. She glanced at Ethan, expecting to see anguish or-at the very least-fury. Nothing. She could read nothing on his face Take the box in back, would you, Kerry?" he asked in a perfectly level, perfectly calm voice Kerry closed the cover and picked up the box, which was heavy but manageable She stepped out of the way to let Ethan enter. Then-at the moment Ethan was occupied with <>

dragging Marsala in after him-she turned, holding out hercoat in a gesture that was an unwelcome reminder of the Rochester prost.i.tutes. She felt the tug as Marsala took the gun from her inner pocket. By the time Ethan was settled behind the steering wheel, Marsala, next to him, had the gun in his own pocket, and Kerry was sitting in the backseat with Marsala's vampire-hunting kit.

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

L. THAN KEPT A wary watch on Marsala as he drove, no JL-^doubt ready to grab him if he tried to escape from the car, to shove him back if he lunged Marsala, of course, did neither; and Kerry, hunched mis- erably in the backseat, realized she was too confused to ac- tively hope for anything Except that she could keep from crying Which, the moment she thought about it, she couldn't She bit her lip, trying to regain control, sure-at least- she was being so quiet no one would notice "Kerry?" Ethan, spreading his attention between Marsala and driving, spared a quick glance in her direction Then another "Did he hurt you?" Before she could answer, he <>

grabbed a handful of Marsala's jacket and shoved him so that his head bounced off the side window, saying, "If you hurt her-"

"No!" Kerry said at the same time Marsala said the same thing. "I'm all right," she insisted.

She could see Ethan's skeptical reflection in the rearviewmirror. He kept hold of Marsala until he had to downs.h.i.+ft, and even then he let go reluctantly.

And what was she supposed to make of that? She rested her forehead in her hand and didn't move until Ethan pulled the car into Marsala's driveway, "Out," he told Marsala, and he began sliding him across the seat and out the door. To Kerry he said, "Stay here."

"No," Surely when Marsala had told her not to let Ethan separate them, he had been more afraid of getting separated from his gun than from her. but she couldn't just abandon him now Marsala was on the side of right, she told herself as Ethan's blue eyes, surprised, turned in her direction, Re- memfctr Regina's house, she told herself. Remember Berffoi Swamfi.

"If anybody looks out and sees me just sitting here, they'll get suspicious," she explained.

"AH right, then," Ethan said in a tone that was like an , icicle melting down her jacket collar. "In that case, you can carry the box."

Did he guess she'd betrayed him? Had she just failed his final test by not admitting it and begging his forgiveness?

Don't be silly, she told herself- If Ethan suspected her, she couldn't imagine he'd waste time and effort with tests- They used Marsala's key this time and turned on the light that hung over the entryway stairwell.

"Up," Ethan ordered.

Kerry followed the two of them.

190.

"You tike the idea of drinking my blood in my own house, vampire?" Marsala asked. "That's what the other one, the female, would have done, too. I tracked her. 1 followed her for two years before she led me to you, and I got to know her habits. She had a great sense of irony."At the head of the stairs, Ethan gave him a shove into the living room.

"Or are you going to let the girl drain me? Is that how the transition is made, with the first kill?"

Kerry set the vampire-hunter's box down at the top of the stairs, wondering if he was just stalling for time or whether he really believed that, as though the fact that she had helped him wasn't enough to convince him Ethan had never bitten her.

"n.o.body's going to feed on you," Ethan said. He backed Marsala up against the wall, holding him by the shoulders so that Marsala couldn't get to the gun.

Why didn't he do it before^ Kerry thought /H the car. m the driveway, going up the stairs? Not that she wanted to see Ethan killed, but she knew there was no other way.

"I see," Marsala said. How could he remain so cool? Didn't he know how quickly Ethan could move? "We're just here because we're all good friends," Marsala said.

"We're just here to make your death look like something else," Ethan corrected. He tossed a set of keys onto the coffee table, Kerry could see the Ferrari symbol: Regina's keys, to give the police a lead in her disappearance, even if the body was never found "What's the matter?" Marsala taunted. "Don't you want to do it in front of the girl? Don't you want her to see you with my blood dripping off your fangs, smeared on your teeth and chin? Don't you want her to see what you are before you t9i finish making her one of you?" He didn't wait for an answer "Kerry"-she Jumped at the suddenness of his calling her name-"there's a tape recorder in the box, under the stakes Get it out and press PLAY "Elhan gave her a confused and worried glance He hadn't known, Kerry saw He hadn't guessed. He hadn't suspected The thought had never crossed his mind But it did now "Do it," Marsala commanded "No" Ethan didn't know what was going on-Kirry couldn't tell what Marsala planned-but he definitely needed to see which of them she'd listen to "I'm sony," Kerry said She opened the box and lifted the tray out, exposing a portable AM/FM radio-tape player and the gaHic she'd suspected all along "Kerry," Ethan said uncertainly, spending a dangerous amount of attention on her Kerry pressed the P1AY b.u.t.ton There was the hiss of the tape before the recording started, and Marsala said, "And now take out the gun"

She jerked her head up She had an instant of terror, supposing a second gun that she couldn't find, before she saw both men start to move There was no gun But with no way to know that, Ethan released Marsala and lunged toward Keny While Marsala went for the gun in his pocket Kerry, still on the staircase, dropped to her knees and covered her head, knowing what woefully inadequate pro- tection that would be against vampires or bullets There were two shots, and Ethan cried out in pain, just as the music on the recorder started-loud cla.s.sical music,192 perhaps the overture to an opera. Just the kind of music to camouflage murder Kerry forced herself to look up She had been sure Marsala would aim for the head to inflict the worst damage She was sure that she would look up to find Ethan dead or dying, but Marsala had shot him in the leg The left leg, she noted irrelevantly, the leg opposite from the one that had been injured last time Both bullets had hit him in the thigh As Ethan tried to sit up, Marsala came closer and fired a third bullet into his right knee Kerry covered her mouth to keep from crying out Ethan doubled over, not making a sound this time Marsala had a clear shot at his head if that was what he intended But apparently that wasn't what he intended "You," he said, motioning to Kerry She had to pa.s.s by Ethan, who watched her but made no move to stop her She remembered him saying that vampires didn't feel hot or cold the way humans did, and she told herself that he couldn't fee! pain to the same extent that a human would, either As proof, she pointed out to herself that otherwise he would have screamed when Marsala's third bullet hit his knee Surely his first outcry had been from startlement She re- membered how hurt and scared he had looked in the laundry, and how that had been an act "I'm sony," she said again "Open the drapes," Marsala told her She glanced at Ethan, who was looking from her to Marsala"Do 1 have to say everything twice^" Marsala demanded Kerry knelt on the couch to reach the cord that opened the drapes covering the picture window i93 The side window, too And the sliding-gla.s.s door in the kitchen That's the main one It faces east" Marsala checked his watch, then glanced at the tape recorder "Come oh, long before Madame b.u.t.terfly realises she's been betrayed, the sun is going to nse up over those trees and flood this whole part of the house with all that lovely, cleansing light How long since you've seen a sunrise, vampire^"

Ethan met his smirk levclly and said nothing Kerry crossed in front of him again to go into the kitchen, to open the drapes over the door that led from the kitchen to a small wooden deck in back of the house Stop it. she wished at Marsala There was no need to gloat and torment Ethan She remembered, again, how Ethan had almost killed her at Rcgina's house Tm nol ifoiru) to hurt you." he'd promised She tried to replace that image with the one from Bcrgen Swamp, when he'd been angry, but then he'd only kissed her neck As in Tag. you're it So maybe he hadn't been angry after all That one was too hard to figure out Once again the thought of Regina's house forced itself into her mind He'd held her slightly off to the side, so that she'd been pressed against his chest, but that was all, as though he was taking into account her age and lack of experience, or the fact that she'd helped him the night before "Oh, you're quiet now," Marsala said to Ethan. "But we're going to need Madame b.u.t.terfly to cover your screams later "

"Professor Marsala," she begged "1 take it," Marsala continued as though she hadn't spoken, "circ.u.mstances being what they arc. that neither of you has ever witnessed a vampire's death by sunlight"Ethan briefly closed his eyes, then opened them again as though to say he could face whatever Marsala had to say "Let me share my experience," Marsala said. He had to 194.

raise his voice because, on the tape, singers had now joined the orchestra "I entered the female vampire's house at about noon I expected that I would find her asleep in a coffin in the bas.e.m.e.nt Imagine my surprise when I found her in an elegantly decorated bedroom, wearing a modest though al- luring negligee, probably purchased at Kaufmann's or Lord and Taylor Not the Halloween scene I expected at all Still, 1 set my kit down" He indicated the box by the steps "I arranged the stakes on the floor so she could see them when she awoke, turned on Madame b.u.t.terfly to allay the fears of neighbors who might otherwise be concerned by any un- accustomed noise, laid the crucifix down on her bosom, then gently opened the vampire's mouth and placed several cloves of garlic inside She stirred just the faintest bit then, but she didn't awake And then I opened the windows "

What have I done? Kerry thought, seeing the relish with which he told his story "First I pulled back the drapes There were two sets of windows ! opened the drapes of one, then the other She frowned, in her sleep I could see the little line, here"-he indicated between the eyebrows-"as though she might have been having a bad dream Perhaps remembering a victim's blood that didn't taste as sweet as she had antic.i.p.ated" Mar- sala smiled into Ethan's look of loathing "And then 1 pulled open the shutters First one"-he gave a flourish with his hand-"and then the other Of course, she started screaming as soon as the first was open "

Ethan closed his eyes again "Well," Marsala corrected himself, "she didn't actually scream at first, because there was all that garlic in her mouthBut she was spitting out the garlic and making these noises deep in her throat that would have been screams if she could 195.

have gotten them out, and she thrashed on the bed, but she couldn't get up. Because of the crucifix- Her skin became red . oh, in seconds. She went hrom seriously sunburned to raw and blistered in the time it took her to realize what was happening and to clear the garlic hrom her mouth. She begged for mercy- Not for me to let her live-she knew it was too late for that-but for me to use the stakes or the hatchet on her Do your victims ever beg for mercy, vampire?

Did Joey? Don't"-Marsala made a gesture as though to cut Ethan off, though Ethan hadn't given any indication he was going to speak-"don't tell me you weren't the one to kill Joey I know you weren't even in Brockport then. But surely you vampires discuss such things, don't you? "Oh, 1 had such an interesting dinner the other night. First 1 won his trust, and then 1 ripped his throat out. My Cod, he screamed won- derfully-' Do you share vampire stories like that?"

Ethan didn't answer.

This isn't necessary, Kerry wanted to shout at Marsala. You don't need to 3io this.

Marsala asked, "Or is one just the same as any other for you? She didn't ever mention him, did she? She probably couldn't even remember his name by the next morning, could she?" His fingers flexed on his gun.

Kerry braced herself for the shot she was sure was coming, but Marsala gave another smile "You can't goad me," he said- "You don't get off that easy."

He took a deep breath. "So, she may not have known what I meant when I kept repeating,'I'm Joe's father.'"He shrugged.

"But I was everyone's father at that moment. I stood there for everyone she'd killed over the years- I watched her skin blacken. And crack- And curi. And fall off. Did I mention the smell of burnt meat? finally, the little gurgling noises comingJ96 from her throat stopped And a while after that the body stopped twitching. That was when I chopped off her head, to make sure she couldn't come back. There was hardly any blood by then What there was, on the edge of my blade, boiled away in the sunlight. Then I closed the shutters and the drapes, so that the house would look the same as always.

I rewound Madame b.u.t.terfly. We hadn't even got very far into it. Five, six minutes at the very most, I'm sure it seemed much longer for her" Marsala looked at Ethan appraisingly. "I imag- ine you'll take longer to die, with the weaker early morning sunlight."

"Professor Marsala," Kerry said, "why are you doing this?"

"1 want the names of other vampires," Marsala said It was, she could sec, what Ethan had expected "I was too eager to see the female vampire die," Marsala said.

"Regina," Kerry corrected, fed up with this- "Her name was Regina." Which it may or may not have been, after all these years- "Professor Marsala, you can't do this. It's one thing to kill them to protect yourself, but you have no right to torture-"

"I was too eager to sec the female vampire die," Marsala insisted to Ethan "The last thing I should have done was fill her mouth so that she couldn't talk- You will talk And if you talk fast enough and if I believe what you're saying, I may give you one of the easier deaths she begged for " Marsala checked his watch "Not a lot of time to make up your mind,"

he announced cheerfully. "Although no doubt you have an inner sense that's already told you that . . And perhaps I shouldn't have used the crucifix to hold her down. so that she could have thrashed even more"

(97Beyond the look of pure hate Ethan was wearing, there was a flicker of contempt Marsala saw it, Kerry knew he did He smiled smugly as he walked past Ethan, leaving a wide clearance around the wounded vampire as he approached the toolbox where he kept his supplies He set the safety on his gun and tucked it into his belt "Let's see If you do cooperate, which of these would you prefer I use? Understand, we won't have a lot of time for decisions at that point" He touched the point of one of the stakes to show that the pun was intentional "And you probably won't be very coherent by then, spitting up your own blood and all One of these? Or this?" His hand strayed to the hatchet "Or this?" He picked up the silver crucifix and held it triumphantly in Ethan's direction If he was expecting Ethan to cringe, he must have been disappointed Ethan looked close to laughing Which may or may not have been budding hysteria But still he said nothing, which Marsala obviously found infuriating "And what about you?" Marsala said, turning what Kerry was now sure was his mad gaze on her "I'm very sorry 1 helped you," Kerry admitted, which she knew wasn't a smart thing to say, but she couldn't help it.

The worst part was, she didn't think that had anything to do with what he said next: "How shall I kill you? I wish i knew if there was a way to reverse the vampire process"

"She's not a vampire," Ethan said, his first words since this had all begun Marsala held up his hands helplessly as though he hadn't even heard "But who is there to ask whose answer 1 would trust?"

"She's not a pampin.' Ethan repeated more emphatically.

198"Either someone's a vampire or not There isn't any transitional stage-"

"Obviously the sunlight doesn't affect you," Marsala continued to Kerry "And in any case, I'd offer you an easier death since this condition isn't your fault"

"SHE'S NOT A VAMPIRE'" Ethan yelled at him "You just let yourself get seduced by evil," Marsala said "Just like Joey did I wish there had been someone around to offer him an easy death" Marsala picked up one of the Stakes and the mallet Kerry, keeping her back against the hallway wall, slid away in the direction of the bedrooms Marsala came after her Behind him, Ethan tried to get to his feet, but his right leg buckled under him Marsala whirled around, dropping the mallet as he reached for the gun in his belt "No!" Kerry screamed as he shot Ethan yet again in the leg Ethan dropped heavily to the floor She came running up behind Marsala, with no other plan than to make him stop hurting Ethan Marsala turned, and she found herself facing the gun in his right hand and the pointy stake in his left Furious, she shoved him away from her She heard the gun go off yet again She was sure she'd been hit-how could he have missed at such a distance?- but so far nothing hurt, and he was tipping over backward He had flung his arms wide for balance, and the first thing she thought was that he had missed after all And the secondthing she thought was that he'd walked backward into his 199.

toolbox And after that there was no time for thought as he fell down the stairs, hitting his head at least three different times before the final crack on the slate floor of the entryway It was no use going to check for a pulse Kerry wasn't that familiar with dead people-Ethan and Regina ex- cepted-but she knew Marsala was dead My fault, she thought Though she'd only intended to push him away from her, she had pushed him, not realizing how close to the stairs they were. She spared a thought to think that she was sony she'd killed him, but she couldn't be sony he was dead She spared another thought to think that she was glad she was alive, and then she was scrambling in the kitchen to drag the drape in front of the sliding-gla.s.s door "Kerry," Ethan called The sky was turning pink It had to be a matter of seconds now, She pulled the drape shut and headed for the living-room windows Ethan clutched her ankle as she pa.s.sed, making her stumble and fall to her knees.

"What arc you doing?" she screamed at him The drapes aren't thick enough."

"Just let me " She tried to wriggle free, but she could see that the drapes were an open weave, almost lace, all of them, and at the most they'd soften the sunlight She could see the marks of fading on the carpet and furniture "Get the gun," Ethan told herShe started to ask why, but she knew.

"1 can't," she whispered.

Ethan released her ankle "Kerry, I got caught by the dawn once before It was only for a second, before I could bar the 200.

window He looked at her desperately "Please," he whis- pered, "a bullet through the brain will be much faster and less painful"

The gun had fallen out of Marsala's hand halfway down the stairs, so she didn't have to go all the way down, didn't have to look at the body of the man she had killed She stood there, considering going the rest of the way down, consid- ering going out, closing the door behind her, leaving nature to take its course without demanding any more of her She probably wouldn't even be able to hear Ethan's screams as he began to die Kerry picked the gun up, and it felt even colder and heavier than it had in the Student Union "Kerry," he called, which meant. Hurry.

She came back up to the top of the stairs, where she knelt because her legs couldn't cany her any farther Her hand shook so that she had to hold the gun in both hands, and even then she thought she was going to miss entirely, or just inflict more damage, more pain, without killing him "It's all right," he a.s.sured her, closing his eyes, bracing himself But she hesitated, and he took in his next breath in a hiss of pain.

''Kerry'" he cried, a plea for her to be merciful Then, as the soft glow of sunlight touched him. "Cod'"

She threw the gun into the kitchen She was on her feetbefore it stopped skittering across the linoleum floor He'd flung his arms up, instinct to protect his face from the scorching rays of the sun Crabbing his wrists, she dragged him across the rug She wasn't strong enough-she knew she wasn't; she'd get him only so far and then he'd die agonizingly-but she got him down the hall to the master bedroom and-mistrusting the 20 f looks of those drapes, too-into the closet She pulled the doors shut, enclosing them in a s.p.a.ce about five feet long and three wide.

But it was blissfully without sunlight.

She groped for the string she'd glimpsed, and the light came on, Ethan was hunched over, breathing hard and ragged Could vampires go into shock? she wondered.

She yanked one of Marsala's s.h.i.+rts off its hanger to use as a bandage around his leg.

"Not necessary," Ethan whispered, and-in fact-she saw that he was no longer bleeding, She sat down, sliding her back down the wall, afraid of hitting the door and accidentally opening it on to the killing sunlight. "Lean against me," she told him He looked up at her with eyes made wide by pain and possibly mistrust, but he leaned against her-there was noth- ing else he could do.