Page 58 of Silent Stalker
I laughed. “I’m expecting you to bring me some hot chocolate for breakfast.” My stomach gurgled, making it clear it wanted something, too. “And apparently, it’s a breakfast morning?”
“I’ll make you something to eat,” he promised.
A soak, some hot chocolate, two bottles of blood, and waffles woke me up, and by the time I got dressed, Annora and Gerry had run off with Edgar, leaving me alone with Emerick. “I guess we got morning visitation rights?”
“Something like that. Edgar needs to be acclimated to modern society, and the best way to do it is to let him explore the world and ask questions. Because of his age and his difficulties retaining information, it’ll be a lengthy process, but he’ll get there. He has an appointment with Giovanni before bed, so we’ll get a better idea of his current state. We just don’t know what being in the ground for so long might have done to him.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
Emerick regarded me with a surprised expression. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“It just seems to be a lot. A week ago, you thought he’d gone on to his final rest. It’s a lot of work caring for a child.”
“Oh, I see. I’m fine—better than fine, really. We, as a brood, are ready to handle unexpected children. The mortal wives tend to enjoy surprising their randy spouses with pregnancies. Right now, none of the women are pregnant, which makes the timing quite good. There are a few mortal children Edgar’s age, but we must do a lot of work with Edgar before they can meet and play together. Edgar struggles with controlling his strength, so we have to establish strict rules on how they play together. Edgar does understand he can hurt his playmates, but he is still a child who gets excited, and excited children make mistakes. Before he disappeared, we kept a close watch to make certain no one got hurt. We’ll have to be careful, but it’s manageable.”
“And you’re not upset Annora and Gerry have him?”
“Not at all. We’ll get to see him several times a week, and we’ll pick nights where we get to watch him. All I care about right now is knowing he’s all right.” Emerick winced. “Well, as all right as he gets.”
“You regret he was turned at such a young age.”
“How can I not? He isn’t truly capable of comprehending all that he’s lost. He is a joyful burden and a reminder of why we must take care with our children, both in life and in death.”
“I’m genuinely surprised there aren’t more like him,” I admitted.
“Before his age, burial practices were different. Ceremonies and rituals were performed, and they consisted of many little things that worked well to prevent a child from rising from their grave. Superstitions also played a role. They did things hundreds of years ago that would horrify you. But those things kept children from rising from their graves. I take care to maintain some of those practices. However much we love him, we don’t want there to be another Edgar.”
The realization I might have shared Edgar’s fate chilled me. “That might have been me.”
“When I first saw you, I worried. The relief upon hearing your age was real. You had not been robbed of your childhood, and you had not been locked in an underdeveloped body. You’re still younger than I prefer to turn, but you had experienced life before death, and that’s important. Edgar hasn’t.”
“You wish he could grow up.”
“I wish he could have all that life has to offer. I wish he could choose if he wants to be a romantic, or to go at life alone, what type of work he wants to do—I want him to have it all. He can’t. We had to stop having birthday celebrations for him because he didn’t understand why he isn’t like everyone else. Instead, we will celebrate his accomplishments. He’s too aware of the weight of age. He’ll never be able to enjoy a candlelit dinner with a glass of wine and excellent company. There’s so much life he simply can’t experience. It is my hope that we might be able to overcome whatever prevents him from growing, but we would have to learn the why of it.”
“Well, I’d say magic had a lot to do with it. If stakes can paralyze us and kill us on contact, why can’t magic unravel whatever is preventing him from aging? Maybe some of my stakes can help?”
“That’s something we’ve never tried before, but truth be told, it’s something we’ve never been willing to try before. You’re the first carver I’ve seen whose stakes comfort rather than harm.”
“We’ll have to deal with one problem at a time, but it’s worth trying. Do we have any new information on the current situation?”
Emerick went to the sitting room and sat on the couch, stretching out his legs and staring into the fire. I joined him, giving him a chance to gather his thoughts.
“Do you want the good or the bad news first?”
“Let’s start with the bad.”
“Whomever is behind this is damned good at cleaning up after themselves. The police located the vans, but the only DNA evidence they found came from the victims. The security camera footage from nearby buildings caught some images, but they’re not clear enough to learn much. We know each van had at least two or three people in them, likely male judging from their size. But that’s it. They went in understanding they would be recorded and were masked and covered up. We can’t even identify skin color from the footage we have. That leads us to believe we’re dealing with a brood, likely consisting of criminals and those used to working beyond the limits of the law. That’s a dangerous combination. As it’s probable they’re a young brood, they are going to get a nasty surprise.”
“They are?”
“We vampires have been policing ourselves for centuries, Mrs. Lowrance. When we find a mutual enemy or threat to our survival, we join forces. There are no broods approving what has been done to these men—and potentially to you. My maker’s word has sway, and when he says someone faced atrocities he does not wish to speak of, he is believed. But that leads me to another interesting thing. Not a problem, but interesting.”
“What interesting thing?”
“You, my wife, have quite the club of admirers. Word of your stake carving has spread through the preternatural community, along with the more medicinal properties of your stakes. Upon hearing we’re using your stakes as treatments for the abused vampires, a brood made a request of me, which I immediately granted.”
“What request?”
