Redemption Page 4

  An hour slipped by but the easy camaraderie that had filled the tavern, even during the fight, never returned. No one else even entered the building. Only Calvin seemed pleased as he chatted happily and with florid hand gestures that Jack thought were far more exaggerated than they had to be.

  After a few more minutes, Hannah said something and rose to her feet. Calvin stood beside her, took hold of her hand and bent over to place a kiss on the back of it again. She stared at him before nodding and hurrying away to the kitchen. Calvin retrieved his gloves and gestured for his men to follow him out of the building.

  After a few more tense minutes an oppressive weight seemed to lift as shoulders relaxed, cards were dealt and laughter filled the barroom once more. Jack found his eyes repeatedly drawn back to the kitchen area but Hannah didn't reappear as the night wore on. Rubbing at his neck, Jack pushed away his empty tankard and rose to his feet. William had started a game of dice with some of the men within the room but he stopped in mid roll when Jack stood.

  "I'm going to see if I can find us some rooms," Jack informed him.

  "There's some rooms above that Abe will rent to you for the night," one of the men at the table informed him.

  Jack nodded as he made his way through the room toward where he'd seen Hannah disappear earlier. He'd only meant to stay in this town for a few days, but he was beginning to suspect it may end up being even longer. His curiosity had been pricked by the strange effect Calvin had over the men and women gathered within this building. The practice of keeping blood slaves had ended, there was supposed to be equal rights for everyone. He was certain that Calvin had more power here than he was supposed to though, and that he wielded it in ways that Braith, the Council, and the rebels had all fought to end. Many people and vampires had died to make sure vampires like Calvin didn't run things anymore. He wasn't going anywhere until he knew exactly what was going on in this strange little town.

  The frail looking man Jack had seen earlier appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He took a step back when he spotted Jack right outside the door. "You have rooms for rent?" Jack inquired.

  The bowlegged man nodded enthusiastically. Jack could tell by the lack of a heartbeat that the man wasn't human but his hunched shoulders and graying hair made him appear to be in his sixties. Jack wondered if perhaps he'd managed to survive the change or if he had some defect in his DNA, like Saul, and hadn't stopped aging in his twenties like most vampires did. He thought the defect in the DNA was much more likely than him having survived the change.

  "We do," the man confirmed.

  "I'd like two."

  "I'll get the keys." The man was far quicker on his skinny legs than Jack would have expected from him as he disappeared and reappeared in less than thirty seconds. "Two coppers."

  Jack adjusted the bow on his back as he dug into his pocket and pulled out the money bag he'd shoved in there. There wasn't much he missed about the days before his father's war, when the humans had ruled the world. He hadn't been much of a fan of cell phones, computers had irritated him, and unlike Braith he'd always preferred a fast horse to a car. There was something much more freeing about being on the back of a horse. He did, however, miss paper money and debit cards. He missed a thin wallet with all of his stuff neatly organized within, but after the war most technology hadn't survived and no one had tried to maintain what little remained or tried to bring it back. Paper money had fallen apart over time and most vampires had always felt more comfortable in dealing with the metal currency anyway. Unfortunately it was cumbersome and awkward to carry around all the time.

  Digging through the bag he pulled out two copper pieces and handed it to the man. "Rooms are right up those stairs."

  The man pointed to the set of stairs on the other side of the room. Jack nodded but found himself hesitating outside the doorway. It wasn't until the older looking vamp frowned at him that he realized he was loitering in the hopes of getting another glimpse of Hannah. He mentally shook himself and turned away from the man.

  William had walked over to join him and held out his hand for his room key. "These guys are easy pickings; I'm going to stay up for a bit."

  "Don't get yourself knifed."

  William flashed a smile and rubbed at the trimmed auburn beard that he'd grown over the past few months. "Me? Never." William pitched his voice low before continuing on. "I'm going to see what I can find out about this Calvin, and what's going on in this town."

  "Just be careful."

  "Always." William strode back through the smoky haze to the table he'd just vacated. Jack glanced at the night beyond the windows before pulling himself away from the kitchen door. His eyelids were drooping as he plodded up the steps that creaked and groaned beneath him. He glanced back at the room as he went, but though Ellen was still playing the flute, Hannah hadn't reemerged.

  A wall quickly replaced his view of the main room as he made it to the second floor. There were gaps between the boards that revealed glimpses of the light filtering up from below and did little to block the music and laughter. He stopped outside room three and slid the key in.

  He'd spent a lot of time in some not so great places over the past seven years, but as he located and turned on the lantern within the room, he was pleased to realize that this room wasn't among the worst of them. He wasn't so sure the chair in the corner would hold him, but the bed seemed solid and the mattress didn't sag down when he sat on it. He didn't see any cobwebs in the rafters which was more than he could say for most of the places he'd slept in over the past year.

  Kicking his boots off, he fell back against the bed and folded his hands behind his head as he stared into the shadowed rafters. Hunger twisted through his belly but though he knew he could probably find someone willing to share their vein, or a donation center, he didn't have the energy to climb back off the bed. He could sate his appetite in the morning.

  His hand felt heavy as he lifted it to rub at the bridge of his nose. A headache had been nagging at him ever since that memory of David had resurfaced yesterday. There was a throbbing in his chest, one that he recognized as grief, but he'd gotten better at dealing with the emotion over the past year. Well, that was if he could call what he and William were doing as dealing with it.

  His own father had been killed during the war, brought down by his brother Caleb at first, but Braith had been the one to remove the head from his body. There were many things Jack didn't know about his vampire line, or the power that drove it, but his bastard of a father had somehow managed to survive a stake through the heart. It was possible that Braith, or even he, could survive a stake to the heart as well, but it wasn't a theory he was going to try and prove anytime soon.

  Jack would have killed his father himself without feeling an iota of remorse. No, it wasn't his father he grieved for, or his brother Caleb. He grieved for the man who had taken him in and treated him with far more respect than his own father ever had. He'd found a family and friends amongst David and his children. He knew he still had William and his siblings, but he missed the man that had shown him patience, kindness, and a whole new appreciation for the human race that went far beyond the fact that they were a food supply.

  Reaching over, he turned the lantern down. Laughter drifted up from below but it did little to ease the melancholy settling into his bones. It's only because the one year anniversary of David's death is a week away, he told himself. That was why the memories and sorrow were haunting him like a poltergeist today, but even as he thought it he knew he was lying to himself. He and William had been running from the memories ever since they'd left the palace behind.

  They'd return soon, he told himself, but he knew he was just lying to himself about that too.

  CHAPTER 4

  Hannah watched as Heath and Ellen walked down the street toward Uncle Abe's small blue house down the road. Ellen led Heath up the stairs to Uncle Abe's porch and opened the door for him. She said something to the boy before closing the door. Ellen walked two houses up and das
hed up the steps of her own small faded yellow home. Hannah's hand remained on the shutter as she watched her friend disappear into the home she'd recently built for herself.

  Ellen may be older than her at thirty-two, but she was the closest girlfriend that Hannah had. She would have preferred that Ellen stay with Uncle Abe or at the tavern with her and Lucas. It seemed like such a lonely existence in that small home all by herself, but then if it hadn't been for Hannah's and Lucas's respective parents taking her in, Ellen would have been all alone in the world. Ellen's mother had abandoned her here when she was seven. The only knowledge she had of her father was that her mother had told her he was of the house of Hendry. Ellen knew the name was a way for her to locate her father's family, but she had no intention of doing so.

  Hannah's family had given her work at the tavern and a place to stay. They'd raised Ellen as one of their own, and they had kept her safe. Until their original home had been hit by lightning when Hannah was sixteen, they'd all still lived together. The fire had not only destroyed their home but it had taken both of her parents, and Lucas's mother, from them.

  After the fire they had all lived in the rooms above the tavern for a few years before Ellen had decided it was time for a place of her own, and Uncle Abe had wanted another house. Hannah had contemplated moving in with one of them, but after the death of her parents she had thrown herself into trying to fill their roles at the tavern and spent most of her time here. It had simply been easier for her to remain here; Lucas had decided to stay in the tavern because he enjoyed the freedom that came from being out on his own.

  Hannah pulled the shutter closed on the window and slid the lock into place as the last star blinked out of the sky. She looked around at the damage that had been caused during the brawl. They'd have to bring up some of the stored furniture in the basement, and try to piece together what was left up here until they could have some new furniture made, but they should be able to get through the next few days with what they had left.

  The dull thud of Lucas's boots sounded against the planks as he pulled out a chair and plopped into it. Hannah winced and ducked away as the chair gave out with a loud snap. With a small thud, Lucas sprawled inelegantly upon the floor in a heap of debris.

  "Son of a bitch!" He slapped his hands on the ground before tossing a chair leg off of his lap.

  Hannah shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. "It was probably broken during the fight."

  He glanced at her from under a lock of wayward brown hair that was five shades lighter than hers. His nose scrunched up as his russet eyes met hers. "Maybe it was just old."

  "It was perfectly fine last night," she retorted.

  "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled as he shoved another broken leg off of him and rose to his feet. "I'll fix it."

  "I don't think anyone is going to be able to fix it," the stranger sitting at another table said.

  Hannah glanced at the auburn haired human she had spotted amongst the fray earlier. Shadows marred the soft skin beneath his bloodshot eyes but he was still holding a deck of cards in his hand as he gave her a grin that had probably made more than a few women fall in love with him. Though it made Hannah smile in return, she had no romantic interest in the human. She'd been bitten in the ass by strangers before and had vowed years ago not to get involved with them again.

  Old man Turner was the only one still sitting at the table with the newcomer. Judging by the size of the pile in front of Turner compared to the one in front of the stranger, Turner was going to get an earful when he finally dragged his butt home to his wife, which was something that Turner would be doing soon if she had anything to say about it.

  "He's going to give it a try though," Hannah told the stranger.

  The stranger's eyes twinkled with amusement as his gaze drifted back to Turner. Though it wasn't an everyday occurrence, more and more out-of-towners had begun to drift through their town since the end of the war. There had been some travelers in the town during the years before the war, but far less than there were now, and vampires from this town had never traveled beyond its boundaries. This town was the one place that they didn't have to worry about the fear and distrust they often encountered in other towns. This town was their home and none of them were willing to leave the security it had to offer them.

  No, strangers weren't a rare occurrence anymore, but the vampire this man was traveling with had caught her attention. He was the first vampire she'd ever seen not back down from Calvin. She'd been terrified Calvin was going to kill him for his insolence, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the stranger might actually be a threat to Calvin. She didn't see how that was possible though, Calvin was the most powerful vampire within a couple of hundred miles as far as she knew. He never let anyone forget it either as he ruled this town and all its inhabitants with an iron fist.

  She was trying to convince herself that her interest in him was because he hadn't backed down from Calvin, but she knew that it was more than that. Though there were a fair amount of handsome men in town, including Calvin, none of them had affected her in quite the same way that this new vampire had. His unrelenting steel gray eyes had been seared into her memory when they had met and held hers. The planes of his high cheekbones and the curve of his square jaw haunted her thoughts. His tussled hair would have been completely black if it hadn't been for the streaks of brown and gold that ran through it. The tanned hue of his skin, and those fairer strands of hair, lent an air to him that screamed of the outdoors, of being able to run wild and a freedom that she would never know.

  Uncle Abe had informed her that the vampire had taken two rooms upstairs but she didn't know how long they would be staying in town for. Maybe she would get a chance to talk with him...

  She shut that thought down instantly. It was a dangerous thought to have, Calvin would make sure the enigmatic vampire was chased off or killed if she even remotely showed one iota of interest in him.

  Hannah folded her hands into the skirts of her dress. Sometimes she wished that she could leave here, but there was nowhere for her to go. Her life was here, her family was here, and she would be vulnerable out in the world, exposed for everyone to see. This was where she belonged, where she would always belong, but she was terrified that she would be forced into a relationship with Calvin that she didn't want. She would be helpless to stop it though if she was going to keep her loved ones safe.

  "Turner, don't you think you should be getting home?" she suggested as Lucas inspected the broken pieces of the chair with a curled upper lip. The older human was staring at his cards with a look on his face that made her realize they might have another person sleeping in the rooms above today.

  "I'm not sure I'm going to be welcome there," Turner muttered around the toothpick dangling from his lips.

  "I'm not sure you will be either," Hannah agreed. "But you better find out before we go to sleep because we won't be opening the door for you in another hour."

  Turner pulled the toothpick from his mouth and tossed it onto the table as the newcomer smiled and added the pot in the middle of the table to his large pile of money. Lucas opened the door for Turner and gave a sweeping gesture of his arm before closing and locking it behind him. The human stood up and shoved all of his winnings into a pouch before pulling the string closed.

  "It's a nice town you have here, good people," the stranger commented.

  "That you like fleecing of their money?" Lucas asked as he dropped the seat from the chair on the pile of wood by his feet.

  The redhead chuckled as he slipped the pouch into a pocket inside his coat. "That's always a bonus," he admitted. "My name is William."

  "Lucas," her cousin introduced himself as he shook the man's tanned hand.

  "Hannah," she greeted as she took hold of the calloused hand and gave it a brief shake.

  "Pleasure to meet you both," William said and released her hand.

  A loud pounding on the door brought her head around before she could respond to him. "Lola kick
ed Turner out faster than I'd expected," Lucas said with a small laugh.

  "Well he has been sitting here since six o'clock last night," Hannah said as she strode toward the door. She had just thrown the lock on the door when it was forcefully shoved open. A small cry escaped her as she was knocked back a good three feet by the force of the door.

  "Hannah!" Lucas shouted as he lurched forward to try and grab her.

  He wasn't quick enough though as she tumbled to the floor in an awkward heap that made her teeth clamp together uncomfortably. Lucas released a low hiss and pulled her away from the door as men filtered through the doorway. Kane was in front but Calvin strode confidently through the doorway with the collar of Turner's shirt twisted in his hand. The hapless human's toes scraped across the wood as he was led forward. Turner's eyes had been bloodshot and swollen from lack of sleep when he'd left, but now they were mere slits behind the bulging and already bruised lids that framed them. A nasty black and blue bump was starting to form on Turner's wrinkled forehead.

  Hannah had to force her gaze away from poor Turner's swollen face and up to Calvin's smirking one. Resentment boiled hotly through her but she managed to suppress it as Calvin's hooded, predator-like eyes met hers. Ruthless, that's what he was, completely ruthless. A bad feeling about what was about to unfold settled in her stomach. She grabbed Lucas's hand as he helped her back to her feet.

  "I'm sorry Hannah I didn't realize you were so close to the door. Are you ok?" Calvin asked with false sweetness.

  There was no remorse in the hawk like eyes that studied her. Apprehension trickled down her spine when his gaze drifted past her to Lucas. His smile widened as he dropped Turner before him. Turner didn't even have time to get his hands underneath him before he face planted on the floor. Blood trickled out of his brutalized nose, he managed to push himself onto his back but he didn't move again. Hannah fought the urge to help the poor old man but Calvin would only be uglier to Turner if he realized he could manipulate her by hurting him.