Companions Of The Night Part 9

"How are vampires made?" she asked Playing the piano wasn't enough distraction to let him becaught off guard "There's absolutely no reason for you to know that"

"Professor Marsala seems to think it's a process that takes place over time, that I can be part vampire and yet still human enough to ride by day on a school bus Either that, or he thinks you're part of our family, and the message was meant for you all along, and not me "

"Professor Marsala is wrong," Ethan said "Either way The procw of becoining a vampire takes all of a few seconds" He switched midmelody to a hyperkinetic version of the already fast "Minute Waltz," then switched again, this time to the Righteous Brothers' slow and haunting "Unchained Melody"

Kerry wondered if the length of time he'd played "The Minute Waltz" was the actual amount of time it took to change rrom human to vampire, or if he just couldn't keep up the pace "Familiar with this?" Ethan asked The words were written by a human-as far as I know-but it sounds like a vampire song"

She thought he might sing, but he didn't "Do you choose?" Kerry asked "To become a vampire? Or is it like an infection?"

"Oh, there's a choice," Ethan said "There's always a choice To one extent or another" He rested both arms on 156.

the keyboard, creating a discordant jumble of notes that was especially Jarring in the middle of the soft melody he'd been playing "Sometimes people become aware there are vampires in their midst, and they seek to become one For the power For the immortality Believe me, you've seen the worst of it these last two days, it can be a seductively appealing life Sometimes, after one of a pair of lovers becomes a vampire, the other may choose to become one also"Retina? Kerry wondered "Sometimes ," she urged him to continue Ethan gave a tight smile "Are you aware that you can't kill yourself by holding your breath? Your body needs the oxygen and unless you're holding something in front of your face that blocks your mouth and nose so that it's suffocation instead of breath holding-unless you're doing that, even- tually your body takes over for your mind and takes that breath Sometimes the choice is like that"

'To die, or to become a vampire," Kerry said Some choice 'The vampire who made me," Ethan said, "drank my blood to the point where I was dying I hadn't known before then that he was a vampire "

"Ht? You-mean it wasn't Regma?"

"I thought we discounted that story ages ago" Ethan sounded surprised she'd believed any of it "I knew, as I lay there with my heart straining to continue pumping what little blood remained, what he was And I knew, when he bit his own wnst and held it out to me, what he was offering Not the details, of course But I knew And I chose " He held his arms out in an and-here-we-are gesture "Not everybody makes the same choice, of course But there's no way a vam- pire could force enough of his blood down a victim's throat against the victim's will So there is a choice"

157.

He put his fingers back on the keyboard and began play- ing ragtime Which seemed a deliberate effort to change the mood- Which Kerry thought was a very good idea. "Is tbis from your time?" she asked "Joplin? No.""Good," she said "Now we're getting somewhere- Was he born before or after you? And if you choose to answer that, could you also tell me when was Joplin born?"

Ethan laughed "Is there any way to stop being a vampire?"

"Certainly."

Kerry considered, then asked, "Any way that doesn't in- volve killing the vampire?"

Again the laugh, more genuinely amused this time "That docs make it more difficult." But then, after a moment, he added, "Yes- So, you see, there are choices after choices,"

"Something finally occurred to me," Kerry said, "during one of our long, silent rides."

He was good enough to be able to watch her without missing a beat of the complicated syncopated rhythm.

"1 thought Regina was French because she called you mow cher. but that was absolutely all she ever said in French. You, however, swore in French when you were so upset you forgot yourself."

He continued playing, continued watching her, not look- ing at all upset at the mention of Regina. Did he periodically throw fits and tantrums just to keep her off balance? she wondered "So," she said, "I figure you're French, or were originally."

In the middle of the ragtime piece, he played the opening measures of "La Ma.r.s.eillaise," the French national anthem, f58 giving it, too, a ragtime beat before switching back to the original tune"But you've been here long enough to lose any trace of an accent"

"Does this speculation eventually lead somewhere?" he asked "I was just wondering, which is older, you or America?"

"Ah," Ethan said, "are you referring to Columbus's dis- covery of America or Leif Eriksson's?"

The question left her breathless, to think that Ethan was somewhere between 350 and 1,000 years old "Joke," he said, seeing her face- But she wasn't sure that it was.

And, in any case, he never did answer her question- 159.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

IT WAS PAST midnight when Kerry couldn't take the waiting any longer. "You don't have to say it," she said. "I know I'm not going to like it-but what's the plan?"

Ethan paused the tape to which he was listening and lifted the headphones from his ears. "WhaP"

He was teaming, he had said, conversational j.a.panese, though he wasn't practicing out loud No doubt he was too ar- rogant to risk stumbling over p.r.o.nunciations in front of a wit- ness, even a witness who wouldn't have any idea how far off he was She figured this was final proof, if she needed more, that he was incredibly old She knew she'd have to be incredibly old before she'd spend her time teaching herself j.a.panese 160.

Kerry suspected that he'd intentionally plunked her down in front of the TV on a night with no good shows so that she'd be bored enough to fall asleep while he pursued his own quiet activities. She'd had enough sleep during the day,she told herself; her eyes were getting droopy simply out of force of habit, because it was past midnight. / iyi'11 not give (urn any opportunities, she told herself. Even fighting would be better than the risk of sleeping while he was awake.

"The plan," Kerry repeated. "Is there one?"

Ethan glanced at his watch, then put the headphones down and turned off the tape recorder completely "1 was planning," he said, with just the slightest emphasis on the word planning, "to throw you to the wolves"

"Could you be more specific?" Kerry asked with what she considered admirable calm "You said, when you first agreed to help me, that you could go places I couldn't This is one of those occasions If we walk into whatever place Marsala has barricaded himself, he's likely to do something foolish"

"Like?" She had a scene in mind straight out of Sat.u.r.day- morning cartoons, with the professor sitting on boxes labeled TNT and DYNAMITE, holding the detonator on his lap.

Ethan shrugged "Something loud and attention getting He might accuse us of being the ones who caused the accident with the school bus, or admit that he was the one but claim that it was in an attempt to capture us-for whatever reason he might think up to accuse us-and he'll demand that the police be summoned. Or he might start shouting that he has proof that we killed Regina-or at the very least b.u.med down her house I don't know; he might claim that I picked his pocket or you propositioned him, or he saw us trying to steal t6i money from a cash register Whatever Something to cause a scene, to focus attention on us And to keep the attention on us till sunrise "

"Okay," Kerry said "I follow so far"

"That's if the two of us walk in together""This is the throwing-me-to-the-wolves pan, isn't it?" she asked, trying to make light of it Ethan gave her a grin that was rather wolfish itself "If you go in by yourself, he's not going to do any of that, because even if you b.u.m up in front of everyone's eyes he's blown everything to get you But he hasn't laid a finger on me I don't think he's going to be satisfied with that"

"And you can't go in alone, instead of me, because 7"

"Well, I could say because I suspect he doesn't really believe you're a vampire, that he's used you to get to me and that he doesn't care one way or the other what becomes of you"

Kerry returned his patently insincere smile "Or you could say ?"

"Because I personally am not willing to risk it Take your pick"

"1 like the first better," Kerry said "So do I," Ethan agreed cheerfully "a.s.suming we-I-find him, then what?"

"You convince him that you escaped from me You can tell him that I fed on you I could leave a mark" He reached across the table faster than she had time to react to and bmshed the back of his fingers across her neck. She jerked away instinctively, even though she knew he could have stopped her it he wanted "Or not," he added with his vampire smile "But you hate me, I do despicable things, I've forced you to watch me feed on babies, I've raped you, I'm planning 162.

on overthrowing the government I'm sure you can think of some reason"

They stared at each other across the table, him daring her to admit it Or deny it The more she thought about it, the less sure she was "I tell him I hate you ," she promptedHe smiled at her equivocal answer "And ask him to help you get me He will, of course, tell you all manner of lies "

"Unlike you"

"He might say he never kidnapped your family, that the vampires did that"

It had crossed her mind She hadn't met Ethan till after eight-thirty, which would have given him four unaccounted- for hours between rising and running into her at the store He was watching her as though trying to gauge her re- sponse "Or he might say that he talked to your father and convinced him of the danger you ran by a.s.sociating with me Your father agreed to help, and he and your brother are perfectly safe and in hiding Hiding from me, Satan's demon sp.a.w.n Or he might say that he took them but then let them go Out of the goodness of his heart, one presumes He has a good heart he never intended to cause the bus accident, but a vampire drove him off the road and the next thing he knew he'd accidentally hit the bus "

"It was in the afternoon," Kerry reminded him "Maybe it was a bee, then In any case, he will try very hard to turn you against me, and I'm sure he'll be very con- vincing "

"I find him," Kerry summarized, "tell him 1 hate you, listen to his lies but don't let them sway me from my purpose I do have a purpose, don't I?" I could < p="">

i63 Ethan said, "Our purpose is to get him out of his public hiding place " Before she could ask Hou>? he said, 'Tell him that you overpowered me "

"Yeah, like he's going to believe that."1 tied you up before dawn, but you got loose while I was still asleep in my coffin, and you secured the lid shut so I couldn't get out-"

"Do you sleep in a coffin?" Kerry asked "No. -and you've been looking for him ever since Which, you tell him, was what I planned to do tonight. So you've gone to him, first to warn him, second because he's the one person in the world who'll believe you about me, third to have him do your dirty work for you "

"Meaning, to kill you." Obviously "And where will you be all this time?"

"My house, which is where you'll tell him 1 am. Except that I won't be in the helpless heap he antic.i.p.ates."

"Will you kill him?" Even though she knew that Marsala might well have injured or killed her family, that went against everything she had ever believed in- "My G.o.d, Kerry," Ethan said, "that can't be a surprise."

"No," she admitted.

"As it can't be a surprise that, given the chance, he'd kill me. And no matter what he tells you tonight, h.e.l.l be planning to kill you, too."

Ethan looked so calm, so matter-of-fact. Of course, she told herself, this was nothing new to him- She might even ask him, And you arm't planning to kill me? But she didn't- "I won't ask for your help," he told her. "You get him in the house, and that's the last I'll ask. But it might help you to remind yourself that he's not just a danger to vampires; he's so intent on getting at us that he's a danger to your kind, 164too No matter what, keep reminding yourself of that school bus tumbling into the ditch."

"All right," she said "Plus your father, your brother, anybody who gets in his way."

"All right," she repeated more emphatically. "I'll do it. It's not a very good plan, you know. Too many loopholes, too many places where he might not believe me, where things might go wrong"

Ethan spread his hands in an I'm-open-to-suggestions gesture She didn't have any.

He watched her intently, gauging, not liking-she was sure-that his life would be in her hands There must be other vampires, Kerry thought. If he didn't have to protect them, surely Ethan would just move on-to a different ident.i.ty, in a different place As he'd obviously had experience doing before. But finally he nodded He handed her the keys to the new Monte Carlo- "Then it begins," he said. "And, Kerry, need I mention? If you can't have him back here by six-thirty, don't bring him at ail."

"Sunrise isn't until after seven "

"If you aren't here by six-thirty," he repeated, "I won't be either. Which means if you bring him here after six- thirty-"

"I'll be on my own," she finished for him. So he didn't trust her, not completely. "How about," she suggested, "if I don't find him by six, I'll come back here alone and we can look again tomorrow'"

He considered, then inclined his head in agreement "Fine.""What if I find him but he won't come until after sunrise?"

165.

Ethan smiled at her Then I hope you can come up with a convincing reason for him why I'm not here. And"-again he threw her own words back at her-"you will be on your own. And so will your father and brother. Vampires are by nature a conservative and cautious lot. Unlike the young, we know exactly how much we have to lose. You don't want me nervous about your intentions."

"You don't need to threaten me," she said.

He just sat there looking at her, with his eyes cool and distant, an unspoken reminder that-should he decide she'd let him down-he had all the time in the world to plot re- venge 166.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

KERRY RECOGNIZED THE first flaw in the plan as soon as she pulled the Monte Carlo away from the curb, There was no way she coutd go to the supermarket to see if Professor Marsala was there because that was the one place she was bound to be recognized, DofSH't matter, she told herself. Surety if the professor planned to spend the greater part of the night in one place, it wouldn't be there, where somebody was sure to notice after the first two or three hours that he was lurking in the frozen- foods aisle- Restaurants and bars made much more sense.

The first place she looked was the Student Union at the college, since that was the place where the professor was most likely to find people he knew, people who were most 167.

apt to intervene if strangers with long, sharp teeth tried to drag him out The place was incredibly noisy, with music andtalking and a whole crowd of people out to have a good time on a Sat.u.r.day night It also wasn't very well lit. so that Kerry had to wander in among the tables, staring. No sign of the man whose picture she'd seen on the piano, Next she started going to the restaurants- "I'm supposed to be meeting someone," she'd tell the host or hostess. "May I look to see if he's here yet?"

He never was The bars were worse When she went into the first one, the bartender called out to her, "Proof"

"Excuse me?" Kerry wasn't trying to order something- all she'd done was walk into the place Maybe she hadn't heard right She had the impression everyone was staring at her, thinking how dumb she was.

"Proof of age," the bartender said- "Cot to be twenty-one to be legal in New York State."

"I'm not twenty-one," Kerry stammered- "No kidding. You can't be in here, then"

"I'm looking for"-she realized what it would sound like if she said someone-"my father."

"He's not here," the bartender said. "Please leave before I have to have you escorted out."

"How do you know he's not here?" she demanded.

"No fatherly types at all " The bartender signaled to some- one, and Kerry said, "I'm going, I'm going."

She turned around in the doorway for a last look. No sign of Marsala, but the bouncer that the bartender had sum- moned was closing in fast.

Kerry left Even if the professor was there, he'd have tof68 leave eventually-she checked her watch-soon, before the place shut down for the night.

The second bar was bad, too, though in a different way A woman-she must have been the manager-came bus- tling over as soon as Kerry stepped across the threshold "I'm looking for my father," Kerry said before the woman could start in on her. "Please." She heard the desperation in her voice, and apparently the manager did, too.

Her face softened. "Oh, you poor dearie," she said Kerry tried to look more like a poor dearie- The woman escorted her from room to room-the place was a converted house-and even offered to call the police for her, "No, no," Kerry said "Don't bother. He always comes home eventually."

The woman patted her hand sympathetically and said, "Oh, you poor dearie," again Kerry even checked the other supermarket, the one where she didn't work Not likely, she knew, but it was only two o'clock, which gave her another four and a half hours.

After that, she drove back to the college and started all over again Her search was shorter this time, since several of the places had closed, and in those places that were still open there was less of a crowd.

The third time she went to the Student Union she found him.

About twenty people were left from the night's earlier crowd, spread out in two main groups; one was cl.u.s.teredaround a TV set, watching The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

those in the smaller group were arguing because they wanted to start an alternative campus newspaper but couldn't agree 169.

on a name for it. A lone girl was reciting sad poetry about bad men, accompanying herself on guitar; and a couple sat holding hands, the giH crying, the boy speaking softly but earnestly. The cashier, who looked like a student himself, sat on a stool, smoking despite the No SMOKING sign and playing some sort of hand-held electronic game that sporadically beeped or played music.

Seated in what Kerry would have been willing to bet was the exact center of the room was Professor Gilbert Marsala.