I may be unable to have a heart attack, but what I do feel is a sick pit in my stomach.
“Alexandre.” Annie already knows without a word from me, the text is from him.
“It says, ‘Emmet Park’. Do you think he knows you’re here, yet?”
“I don’t know. I will try to keep myself masked, hidden out of sight. There is no way you are going alone. Even if I stay back a block or two, I’ll be able to hear everything you’re saying.”
“I think I should go alone, Annie. I love and appreciate you more than I can express, but there is no reason for you to endanger yourself, please stay here. I’ve stood behind others for too long, it’s time for me to stand up for myself.”
“Great sentiment, but it’s not happening. Alone, neither of us are a match for Alexandre, but together we may have a chance. This isn’t my first fight. Something I learned long ago is you always stand with your brothers, or this case, sister. I’ll have your back.”
I look at my friend, and a million things come to mind I should say. Instead, all I manage is, “Thanks,” which seems paltry. She laughs, takes my backpack, and tosses it along with hers onto the sofa.
“I guess we’re not finished with this place, yet.”
I nod, and we head out the front door. When we are a block from our destination, Annie squeezes my hand. “Good luck.”
We’ll both need all the luck we can get. With no plan, and no idea how this will go, I continue. There wasn’t time to come up with one. Even if we had miraculously thought up something, there is just no way to know what Alexandre will do. I no longer understand him. I don’t even know what I will do when I see him. Will I murder the man, or give up? I feel equally inclined to either stab him in the heart, or just go back to bed. Eternity is exhausting enough, without adding heart-wrenching drama into the mix.
Rounding the corner, I see him. A man I love dearly, not romantically, but with loyal and undying friendship. Instead of feeling intense anger, I feel deep sadness. I am mourning the loss of two men--one my love, one my friend. I want to stop and turn around, I am just so tired. But, I won’t stop, I won’t turn around. Instead, I keep walking, our eyes locked, until I am standing an arm’s length away.
There is no sparkle in his eye, no gleam of perfect white teeth as he smiles, no charm, and no playful banter. We are as if strangers to each other. How many times can a heart break?
I refuse to be the first one to speak, so I stand mute, hands clasped in front of me, attempting to look as relaxed as possible. Alexandre looks me in the eye, but his hands are in his pockets, his shoulders slumped.
“I still have him.”
“You mean, he’s alive?” I try to keep my voice as calm, as possible.
“He’s alive, for now.”
“What is this, Alexandre? Just tell me what I have to do.”
“I will release him, on the condition you never see him again. You will not turn him.”
“Surely, you don’t think that I can be with you after all this? Not even as companions. You are beyond delusional.”
“No, I’m not crazy, Mills. I expect you to leave, for now. But, Jack will live out his mortal life without you. When he is gone, perhaps one day, we can put all this behind us. You always talk about how alone you are. Did you ever consider how it made me feel? You haven’t been alone in two hundred forty years, I made sure of that.”
He is both right and wrong. He is crazy, deeply, if he thinks time will make any difference. But, I now see what I have done to him, how I have hurt him. I begin to feel optimistic. Alexandre can be as looney as he wants, as long as I can get Jack away from him. I pause, to let Alexandre think I need time to ponder this offer.
“Agreed. But, I want to see him, and tell him.”
Alexandre rolls his eyes. “There is no need for you two to see each other. I will send Jack on his way. Don’t forget you tried to trick me once before with Julien.”
“First, I need confirmation he’s alive. Second, Jack will never leave me unless I make him. I’m too tired of all this to try and trick you. I just want this over and Jack safe.”
Alexandre shuffles his feet. He doesn’t want to take me, but I know he wants this nightmare to end as badly as I do, so I push him a little.
“I’m tired, Alexandre. I want this over with, as much as you do.”
“Fine. I don’t want to hurt you, Mills, but I think you know now, what I am capable of. This goes beyond loving you, you belong to me, and always will. Convince him to leave, and then we can all move on.”
The last bit makes me wince. No longer will I be under any man’s thumb. I choose my destiny. But I agree, at least outwardly. Alexandre tells me where they have been hiding; an abandoned plantation house about an hour up the coast.
“Alexandre, did you kill Kathryn Hart?”
He looks at me for a moment that is too long, and I know.
“I really didn’t mean to. She was crazy, unhinged, and drunk. Very drunk. I simply pushed her away, and when she fell, she broke her neck. It was an accident.”
He looks down, like he is contrite, but I know he is lying. Kathryn Hart was strangled, and he did it. He didn’t push her off him, he squeezed the life from her. How have I never seen the truth? I have truly been a blind fool, in so many ways.
“Let’s just go,” I say, trying to hide my disgust.
We take off, alongside each other, for the first time in a while. Annie has remained successfully hidden, and I know she will follow. I wish I could communicate with her, but if I try to send her any sort of message, I will open her up to Alexandre.
One of Annie’s many qualities is her ability to think on her feet, a skill she honed during what she calls “The War”. She is an asset in the fight I know is coming. There is no way in hell I will go along with Alexandre’s asinine plan. As I feel, now more than ever, he has lost it. We may have a shot.
Alexandre, himself, told me once about a very ancient vampire he knew. One of the only times, he ever told me about another immortal. This vampire had been alive for so long, he snapped. Before ending his own existence, he took out several of his immortal children. I never understood why crazy people feel the need to take others with them. It would be great if they would just off themselves and be done with it. There is no hope for Alexandre, and no hope for us if we don’t help him with his exit. I will kill him or die trying.
When Alexandre and I stop, we stand in the middle of an oak lined, gravel road, facing a derelict, but still beautiful plantation house. I usually love these sorts of settings, but I’m not inclined to look around too much.
With my superhuman hearing, I can hear Jack laboring to breathe, inside. I start to move up the road, but Alexandre puts his hand on my arm.
“Remember what you said, child. Don’t break your word to me.”
My anger wells up, but I manage to politely incline my head.
Reaching the front door, which looks as if it is hanging on by a thread, my maker gallantly holds it open for me, as if all we are doing is going to see a movie. Jack is sitting on the floor, slumped against the wall, in the front parlor. He sees me, tries to stand, but instead takes a sharp intake of breath, holding his side.
“Don’t get up,” I say, and run to him.
He looks like he’s been through the ringer, through gritted teeth, I say to Alexandre, “Was this necessary?”
“He tried to escape.” Is all he says, as if this explains everything.
No matter, I think, my blood will heal him. He will never feel pain again.
“Shall I leave you, to say your goodbyes? I suppose I could grant you some privacy.” His smugness is off the charts.
“Goodbyes?” Jack manages to croak out.
“Don’t worry, it will all be over, soon.”
I kiss Jack on his mouth. I’m over being passive. I may want to be with Jack, but he will never rule me. No man will ever rule me again.
“Mills,” begins Alexandre.
But, I don’t give him time to finish his stupid thought. Instead I move like lightening, hitting him with the full force of my body, like a freight train, pushing him backward into the decaying staircase. Alexandre flies through the air and hits it hard. Old wood splinters and falls all around him. I know this was the only chance I had to catch him off guard. It wasn’t good enough, not by a long shot.
Before he can right himself, I am on top of him. Grabbing his head on either side I start bashing the back of his head into the solid hardwood floor. If I can destroy his brain, or remove his head, I’m in business. After about three good bangs, he manages to push his legs up and kicks me hard in the gut, sending me flying through the glass window next to the door.
I can only imagine what all this looks like to Jack. I also wonder where my sidekick is. Now would be a great time to show up. I hit the front porch railing, then tumble onto the grass, which feels so soft and cool. I am bleeding from multiple areas, but I have no time to think about it, or even stand up, before Alexandre is on me.
He straddles me. I feel his full weight, as he grips my throat and tries to pop off my head. Fighting for all I am worth, I feel the skin at the base of my neck beginning to tear, he is close to success. Starting to panic, I can see Annie. I know she has finally chosen her moment. She takes up a large portion of railing and hits Alexandre square in the side of the head.
He rolls off me as I raggedly force myself to stand. Alexandre is just too fast, he is up again, taking Annie up like a rag doll, hurtling her body against the solid trunk of an ancient oak tree. I know she isn’t dead, but her temporarily broken body falls to the ground, unconscious.
I may die here, but I really want to take Alexandre with me. The roof of the porch looks extremely unstable, but I need higher ground. I leap up, over Alexandre’s head. I almost fall but manage to right myself. Alexandre’s face is bloody. He looks up at me, smiling in a very creepy way, blood dripping down his long fangs.
“You have no chance, and I can’t possibly let any of you live after this.”
“What a statement to smile about, killing your own children, your own creations.”
“You gave me no choice, Millicent! It could have been so different, so beautiful!”
“There is nothing beautiful about you, Alexandre. At least if I die, I’ll be rid of you, once and for all.”
His smile vanishes. With almost no effort, he jumps onto the roof next to me. Our combined weight is too much for the ancient boards to handle, and soon we are crashing through. As luck would have it, or perhaps thanks to gravity as I am lighter, I fall last, right on top of Alexandre’s back. I’m not strong enough to rip off his head by myself, and the only other way to kill him is to set him on fire or wait for the sun. None of which I can do at the moment. I go back to trying to bash his head, ramming it into the ancient wood of the porch, trying desperately not to let him out from under me.
When I feel like I can hold on no longer, Jack yells,
“Hold him down, and duck your head!”
Alexandre tries bucking me off, but I hold him down with sheer force of will. The rusty ax Jack is wielding comes down with strong surety and removes Alexandre’s head from his body.