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  “Good girl. I knew you were smart. Him, not so much,” she laughed. “Until tomorrow then. I can’t wait.” I heard the rustling of clothing before I saw the dust her departure created.

  “I will never allow it. You realize that, don’t you?” Christian whispered as we headed to the edge of the mountain.

  “What other choice is there? You heard what she said. Besides, I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for almost a century,” I explained as he climbed on my back and wrapped his arms around my neck.

  “I seriously wish you’d start seeing me for what I am: an immortal, just like you.”

  “Sure. We’ll talk later. Right now, let’s get the hell out of here.” We plunged off the wall, screaming all the way.

  ~ Twenty ~

  As the elevator climbed, we fidgeted, unlike vampires, anticipating Aloysius’ wrath. “Did you even hear Aloysius enter the apartment?” I asked trying to break the silence and ease the tension.

  “No. It’s like he appeared out of thin air.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible. At least, I’ve never seen it before but with him, who knows? I feel a lot of power coming from him. He’s a little intimidating, don’t you think?”

  “That’s an understatement,” Christian replied as the doors slid open.

  We walked in hand-in-hand and with our heads held high. No matter what Aloysius thought, we had a good reason to do what we did. I was prepared to defend us.

  “Is he okay?” Christian asked.

  “Yes. This time, but that was much too close. Lily, you should have known better,” Aloysius turned his face toward me. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “I…don’t know. I was worried about what to do with Jose Luis and wasn’t thinking about what was going on with Christian. I won’t let it happen again.” So much for defending us.

  “Excuse me, but don’t I have any responsibility here? I’m not a child. Everyone seems to be treating me as if I am.” Christian released my hand and went to stand directly in front of Aloysius.

  “In our world you are considered a child, a newborn. You need to be taught. Lily of all people should know that,” Aloysius explained, softening his voice. “I’m sure she doesn’t want you to have to learn everything for yourself, the way she did.”

  I shook my head. Christian relaxed a bit and went to sit on the sofa. We followed.

  “That’s neither here nor there right now. It seems we have a situation on our hands. What are we going to do about it?” Aloysius asked calmly as he sat back and crossed his legs.

  “I don’t think Jose Luis is our first priority right now. We ran into some other trouble tonight.”

  “Oh?” Aloysius asked as Jose Luis walked into the living room. He looked around the room and decided to sit cross-legged on the floor.

  “Get up boy! You’re not a servant here. Sit in a chair,” Aloysius commanded. Jose Luis jumped to his feet and rushed to the other armchair. Once he was seated, Christian explained what happened as we were returning from feeding.

  “I think they have Fiore,” I said.

  “How is that possible? Isn’t she supposed to be on a plane right now?” Aloysius looked at Jose Luis who was fidgeting in his seat. He nodded to him and the boy’s hand stopped and his shoulders slumped a bit. I wondered what was passing between them.

  “Whoever was talking to us said she would exchange Jose Luis for our friend. Who else could it be?”

  “I don’t know,” Aloysius crinkled his forehead. “Still, she’s supposed to be on a plane.”

  “Maybe that’s only what they wanted us to think. How do we know they don’t have her and used her cell phone? They could have already had her in their custody and either sent the message themselves or forced her to send it. That’s very possible, don’t you think?” I said, looking from Aloysius to Christian. They nodded.

  “Regardless, I do know we need to come up with a plan. They will expect us to comply with their wishes. They will expect only you and the boy tomorrow night.” Aloysius looked at Jose Luis, who still sat quietly, his hands folded neatly in his lap. “They really want you back.” Jose Luis said nothing.

  “That’s not going to happen. I will never let her go alone!” Christian jumped to his feet and started pacing.

  “I can assure you I don’t plan on it either, but we have to figure out how we’re going to keep them from seeing or sensing us,” Aloysius explained.

  “I can help with that,” Jose Luis said. We all turned toward him.

  “How exactly do you plan to do that?” I asked.

  Christian sat back down.

  “I can cover them,” He motioned toward Christian and Aloysius. “The problem is I have to be with them to do it.”

  “I can do that too but you won’t be with them. You’ll be with me.” How was it possible that this human child possessed so many vampire qualities?

  “Wait a second. What do you mean you can cover us?” Christian didn’t hide his impatience.

  “With my brain. I can make myself part of the shadows and if I am touching you, you too.”

  “What do you mean part of the shadows? Oh, you mean blend?” I asked. Jose Luis nodded. “Well that’s a new one for a human.” My temper was starting to flare but I didn’t care. What if the person they had was Maia? I didn’t want Aloysius or Christian hurt and I wasn’t willing to exchange Jose Luis for Maia, if it did happen to be her and not Fiore. If Aaron and Kalia didn’t love her, I’d gladly turn down their offer of an exchange.

  “Um, Lily?” Christian had his hand in front of his mouth, trying not to laugh.

  “What?” I snapped, making Jose Luis jump in his seat.

  “We can all hear you, remember?” he asked.

  “Oh, right. But it’s true. I have no use for Maia. They can gladly keep her and she can slowly kill them all by driving them crazy! But that’s not the point right now. What does he mean he can do that? He shouldn’t be able to do any of the things he does.”

  I looked at Aloysius, hoping they wouldn’t question the part about not wanting to give up Jose Luis since I really had no explanation for my sudden feelings.

  “I have seen that done before. There are vampires who have that ability, like you, Lily, but I’ve never seen it done by a human either, unless, he’s not totally human…” He turned to Jose Luis, who was now slinking in his chair, and raised his eyebrows. Jose Luis offered no explanation, and before anyone could say anything, Aloysius continued. “Thank you for that offer but Lily is right, you’ll be with her. I think I may be of more use in this matter.”

  “How is that? She specifically said no one else was to be with them,” Christian squeezed my hand and I snuggled into his side, sharing his fear. In the past, I tried as hard as possible to avoid trouble but had no problem facing it when it found me. Now, I felt like a scared child who was always chased by trouble.

  “I don’t know if you noticed that I didn’t use the door tonight.” We both nodded. “I appeared instead. Maybe we can do that.”

  Christian and I exchanged a knowing look. “How long have you been able to do that?” I asked. This was a gift I’d heard of before, but had never met anyone that could actually do it. Though it had been explained to me by Ian, I still didn’t understand how it was possible to disappear and materialize somewhere else, but then again, science had never been my favorite subject and his explanation had been purely scientific.

  “Ever since I was turned. It was my special gift I guess. It happened by accident one day and scared the hell out of me. I was in a store fitting room and I was thinking about getting something to eat, you know what I mean, at the bar on the corner and, poof; I was there, in my boxer shorts. That caused quite a stir.”

  We couldn’t help but laugh and, though he looked embarrassed at first, Aloysius joined us. We all felt more relaxed and knew he was more interested in solving the problem at hand than in lecturing further about my mistake with the ‘new-born’ Christian.

  “
So, here’s the basic plan I have in mind.” He leaned back in his seat again. “When the opportunity arrives when I can be of help, call me mentally, Lily. I will be close but not close enough that they can sense me.”

  “Wait a damn minute.” Christian was on his feet again. “I’m tired of being left out of anything important. I understand why Lily did it when I was human but I’m not anymore. I have powers of my own that may help.”

  “Fine,” Aloysius said with a smile. “You’ll be with me but you may not like the experience of traveling that way.”

  “I don’t care. I’m going.” Christian sat back down but didn’t look at me. He didn’t want to see the disapproval on my face. “Can you do that with me?”

  “All I have to do is grip your arm and you’ll go with me.”

  “What do I do?” Jose Luis asked.

  “You do whatever Lily tells you to do. I’m sure she will have a plan of her own,” Aloysius said as he stood. “I am going to call Carmela, have her stock the kitchen with some food for the boy and prepare rooms for him and Fiore.” And with that said, he left the room.

  Christian and I smiled at Jose Luis, reassuring him and ourselves. Aloysius wouldn’t be calling her at this time if he weren’t sure we would return with Jose Luis. I wanted to believe that too but there was still the matter of whether or not Jose Luis wanted to stay once we walked away. Christian looked at me. I turned away and stood. It was going to be very difficult to keep any secrets from him. I knew he would question me about it as soon as we were alone and I honestly didn’t know what I would say. The thought of keeping Jose Luis with us had not really entered my mind until now. Aloysius seemed certain that we wouldn’t be parting with Jose Luis any time soon.

  “I want to go out,” I said suddenly feeling restless. “I don’t really want to be here when Carmela arrives. This is our honeymoon and I think we deserve to have some fun, at least until tomorrow night.”

  “You’re right. There’s nothing we can do for now so we might as well. What about him?” Christian looked at Jose Luis.

  “No worries, Señor Christian. I will stay with Señor Al and wait for food and my room,” Jose Luis offered. Since when did we call Aloysius Al?

  “As long as you promise to stay put.”

  “Stay put?” Jose Luis looked at me and shrugged.

  “Stay put means stay here, as in don’t you dare try to leave,” I explained. I felt like I was talking to a grounded child.

  “Lo prometo,” he assured us. “Things are open very late in Miraflores. Go. Have fun. I will eat and then sleep.”

  “Right. Sleep is what you need most right now to build up your strength. Okay, we’ll back before sunrise,” I assured Jose Luis.

  Christian and I went down the hall to let Aloysius know we were going out. He was happy that we were going to try to have some fun on this trip. I wondered how many people had to deal with pissed off vampires while on their honeymoons. Christian laughed and grasped my hand as we walked out the door.

  “Do you think Jose Luis will be there when we get back?” he asked as we entered the empty elevator. He leaned against the glass wall while I stayed on the other side. My eyes settled on the tallest of the buildings, all lit up like a Christmas tree. I didn’t want to think about how that must feel during an earthquake. It had to be at least sixty stories.

  “I don’t think he’s too anxious to get back to the people he runs with. I get the impression they just use him for his talents. They don’t really care about him.”

  “But you do?” His eyes found mine and an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach.

  “He’s not much younger than I was when I was left to fend for myself. I can tell how scared he really is, no matter how tough he tries to act.” I took my eyes from his and looked at the street as the elevator reached the ground floor. “He’s a kid. He deserves a childhood.”

  “Right.” Christian led the way out and toward the front door where a new doorman was awaiting to open it for us. It must be Pepé’s night off. “Where are we going, by the way?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Let’s follow our instincts, and the noise, and see where it takes us. This is a happening city at night.”

  “I leave it totally up to you. You’ve been here before,” he said and draped an arm across my shoulder.

  “I’m not sure I would know my way around anymore. It’s been a long time and things have changed,” I explained as we turned the corner and the voices grew louder as did the sounds of pan flutes and cajones. Even back then I had been left alone most of the time, only sporadically having the privilege of being escorted through the unfamiliar city. It seemed the only time Ian really wanted me around, even then, was when he needed to talk to someone and my ability to speak Spanish was of use to him.

  His long stride was difficult to keep up with and I found myself almost running to keep up. “I don’t understand why you need me to escort you to the store. You’re the one who speaks Spanish, remember?” his gruff voice sounded from a few feet ahead of me. “You can’t buy shampoo by yourself? You’re not a child, Lily!”

  “I’m sorry, Ian. I thought maybe we could spend a little time together tonight. You just came back and I missed you. How long are we staying here anyway?”

  He stopped suddenly and I almost passed him before I noticed. He smiled at me, like a father at a stubborn child. “I just got back and I don’t yet know what we are doing next. I’m here now and that’s all that matters and if I have to hold your hand to buy a bottle of shampoo, so be it.”

  I swallowed hard, gathering the courage to say what I wanted. “You spent more time with me before you made me into this…thing that I am. If you didn’t want me like this, why did you do it?” He stiffened and turned away.

  “Lily?” Christian whispered and hugged me closer to him. “Where did you go?”

  “What?” I looked at his face and it took a few seconds for his features to change from Ian’s to Christian’s.

  “You were…remembering, I think.” His voice sounded a little shaky but his smile was soft.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

  “It’s perfectly understandable. It must be the place. But it’s okay now. You’re with me,” he assured me. “I have an idea. When we get all this straightened out, let’s take another trip. Just the two of us.”

  “That sounds like a really good plan. Somewhere where there are no other vampires.”

  We both laughed at that idea and continued toward Miraflores Park or Parque Kennedy as it was more commonly known. It was pretty bad that we felt we needed a vacation from our honeymoon.

  ~ Twenty-One ~

  “What are we doing about Fiore?” Christian asked as cars whizzed past us while we waited to cross. We could see vendors were still in the rotunda at the park and young lovers strolled by hand in hand.

  “She hasn’t answered any of the texts I sent. That may just be because she’s perfectly safe on the plane though. Anyway, we have a few hours before she should arrive. I told Aloysius we’d take a cab to the airport and wait.” I grabbed his hand at the first opportunity and dragged him across the street. “I have no details on her flight but we can look at the board when we get there.” I knew it was wishful thinking that she would be arriving, but it was worth a shot.

  “I guess that’s all we can do.” We reached the curb without being run over.

  “Where’s your money?” I asked

  “In my back pocket. Why?”

  “Switch it to the front, some in each pocket.”

  “Oh, right…pickpockets. I guess this is the perfect place for that. It’s a good thing I fed, so many people.” His eyes smiled but his lips didn’t show it. How could I make him understand that what happened with Jose Luis wasn’t his fault?

  “Let’s go look at what they’re selling and please let me do the talking. Actually, try not to talk at all or they will take advantage and charge us double for everything,” I advised, as I had learned all those years ago. He
nodded and tightened his grasp on my hand as I led the way into the middle of the happily chatting masses.

  We stopped at a stand where a young man was selling silver jewelry. I made my way between two women but Christian could see right over my head. That was an advantage I never had.

  Those hoop earrings would look good on you…

  Really? Aren’t they too big?

  The medium ones then. They’d look great when you wear your hair up…ask how much?

  Even though I usually kept my jewelry very simple, I humored him and haggled my way to a reasonable price. When I told him how much, he didn’t hesitate a moment and handed the money over to the smiling Peruvian. Glad he was spending our money instead of just thinking of it as mine, I let him pay. I took the earrings before the man could put them in a bag.

  “I’ll wear them now,” I told Christian as I put them in my ears. I needed more than anything to see his smile and to remember, at least for the next ten hours or so, the reason we were here: our honeymoon. Once the earrings were safely clasped, I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted one on his lips. His hands went up my back to the nape of my neck where his fingers tightened possessively. His kiss took my breath again and for a brief moment erased everything and everyone around us. It wasn’t until I felt a tug on my shirt that I finally withdrew.

  “¿Un caramelo, señorita?” A young boy, no more than ten years old, was tugging on the back of my shirt. His dirt smeared face lit up as he looked to us with hope. His parents, no doubt, were nearby, also peddling their wares in order to buy their next meal. I knew that if they were watching, and he failed to sell me his little, plastic wrapped candy, there would be hell to pay when he was alone with them. I took a Sol coin out of my pocket and handed it to him. He smiled broadly as his little dirty fingers closed around the coin.

  “Gracias, señorita y…señor.” His neck bent all the way back as he looked up at Christian with wide eyes. “El señor es gringo.”

  “Sí. Es americano. Buenas noches,” I answered and steered Christian away from the still smiling and wondering boy. Christian, with his blue eyes and light hair, was definitely on display here.