The Death Thief

Fools

"I..." Calista's mouth opened, but it snapped shut before she could offer any sort of justification. The set of her brow and the pinch of her lips seemed to say she didn't have an excuse, in fact, it looked like she might have been biting back more fire on her tongue.

"What time is it?" asked Kyra in her normal monotone.

"5:10," answered Everett, who stretched and headed for the door. "We should have mountain sunset, but I can still grab your parasol if you want."

"No, I'll get it when I grab the phial," she replied with a hint of disdain. "I should be fine, but it is cutting it close. She chose this time to test me you know?"

Everett didn't answer as he held the door open for Kyra. After she sauntered out, I turned to Calista, uncertain of what we should do now. Her brown eyes met mine, but only disappointment answered me.

"Come on you two, let's go," said Everett, still standing with his foot against the door. "We have an announcement to crash."

We both looked to him for explanation, but he just waved us along and after a minute, Calista rose from her chair with arms crossed and head down. She filed out the door and I followed shortly after.

"It's nice that you get to witness an announcement so early on." The voice came from just behind my ear, Everett's breath rustling the hairs on the back of my neck and sending a shiver down my spine. I turned to find him hunched ever so slightly as he pulled the heavy metal door closed. His deep brown eyes were looking away so he must have missed the blush on my cheeks.

"Will there still be an announcement?" I stepped to the side and waited for him to usher me forward to where Calista took position by the door and Kyra shuffled through her desk. The vampire eventually plucked a little jar, something like a tube, from her drawer, which she placed in her pocket before grabbing a small black parasol and joining Calista.

"Something is getting announced one way or another," he said, making his way to the front of the station. "Either Greg shows off his sponsor or Kyra proclaims Bernadette's death sentence." He smiled at me as he held open the front door and gestured for me to follow Kyra to a police car.

Though the sun had indeed set just behind the highest peak surrounding the quiet valley, a fierce gold still burned away the coming blue of night. Red and yellow painted the sidewalk and gleamed off the car. Kyra hid away behind the thick black fabric of the parasol, navigating her way to the car with a few long, quick strides. Once inside, tinted windows shielded her and with a simple flick, the parasol closed and disappeared.

"You and Calista will get in the back seats," instructed Everett. "I'll drive."

I gave him a nod and circled around to the other side of the car as Calista was already making her way in on the passenger side. Once inside, we fastened our belts and sealed our lips, sitting in utter silence as the other sheriff got settled into the driver's seat. Though it felt like a million questions rattled my brain, I had no proper words for any of them. Calista, however, felt differently.

"If Bernadette can withstand the sunset and you have to use an umbrella, how are you going to overtake her? You'll lose credibility."

"You know at this point," growled Everett, "you aren't human anymore and you aren't under contract protection, and though we have zombie maiming laws, there isn't much stopping us from making you miserable now." I could see the cold glare in the reflection of the rear view mirror, but Kyra lifted a hand of peace and Everett settled.

"She has right to be concerned," replied a gracious Kyra. "I have not been forthright about my intentions with facilitating Matias's separation from Bernadette and she's drawing the most reasonable conclusion she can, but I don't mind clarifying. You see, little zombie, I could have broken the bond a month ago once I got the serum from the archmage."

"What do you mean?" asked Calista, with a bit less bite in her voice.

"I mean, I was making you wait."

"What?!" Thankfully, the seatbelt kept Calista from doing anything too stupid when she reached out for Kyra's headrest. "What do you mean you've been making us wait?"

"I mean," answered Kyra, who glanced over her shoulder to share a knowing smile with Calista, "I wanted to be absolutely certain that Matias wasn't making a fool out of himself like I did."

Like that, Calista's body snapped back like a rubber band. Her arms fell to her sides, her back settled into the cushion, and her head drooped and turned away to face the window instead of Kyra's subtle grin. Content, the vampire turned back around.

"I'm not sure I understand," I muttered once the silence got too heavy. "Why would Matias be a fool? Is there some sort of retribution for breaking his blood link?"

"Oh yes," she answered, "if you break the link you better be strong enough to defend yourself from an angry dam or sire. However, Matias does not have to worry about that here. He'd still be linked to me as I am his grand dam, and since I have reign over this territory as the eldest vampire, so long as he remains within my boundaries, Bernadette can't touch him without my order."

"Then, what..."

"Sometimes humans just want to use you to become a vampire. Sure you can compel them to stay, but then would that really be love?" Kyra sighed. "I suppose we only have to look at Bernadette and Matias's relationship to know the answer to that. Though, I really do think he loved her in the beginning. It's just, he, like me, realized too late what a monster she really was. Had I appreciated that, I would not have waited this long. Yet..." She paused and took in a deep breath. "At least now I am certain that your love is real. It must be if Matias still wishes to be with you now that you are a zombie. No blood link. No feeding. Just company. You two are very lucky."

It was easy to miss, but in the silence of the car, somehow the subtle sadness in her traditionally flat tone resonated.

"We're here." Everett's booming voice pulled us all up from our seats and I looked out the window to see a cheerful crowd filling the park. White wooden folding chairs faced a small stage with an archway of black and red balloons swaying in the breeze. Children wore their finest clothes as they chased each other around the buffet tables, trying to steal a biscuit before dinner was served. Around the traffic circle, tents lined the sidewalks. Vendors from the local shops sold special treats and had colorful prize wheels to give a spin.

For a moment I forgot we were there to unmask a murderer, that we were looking for the man and woman who killed Calista in cold blood and indirectly drew me into a town I never agreed to be a part of. For a moment, I smiled.

Then, Kyra brought reality back upon my shoulders.

"Del, would you like to make a donation?" she asked turning to me with her flat, emotionless gaze. "Would you like to contribute to their demise?"

"I.." I looked to Calista, who simply stared at Kyra, trying to decipher her meaning. "I'm not sure I..."

"I can overpower Bernadette," she continued, "but I will need to replenish my strength to do so. That means I need human blood."