Christmas Consort

Back and Forth, Loveland OH

When Kylie reached the door and turned the knob she took one more glance at Silas, at his gentle gray eyes, broad features, at the place where she'd seen the dimple when she made him smile. Her stomach gave a flop remembering it. Then she went out the door with Franco Cayne.

They could hear Lara wailing all the reasons she needed Kylie, why she had to be her sister, making up one way after another to ply Silas to her way.

Kylie shuffled to the edge of the porch and spoke to Cayne softly, "Do you need me to help you down the stairs?"

He was already two steps down which brought their heads even. "You shouldn't stay here. That is a tinder box ready to blow up anything and anyone around here."

"I have my reasons." She was thinking about the black clad arm wrapped around her attacker's neck. Wonder at what she had learned in the last couple days fueled her curiosity. Familiar with the old phrase 'curiosity killed the cat', she did not know how to reckon with the way her chest ached at the thought of leaving.

"Your decision. No, I don't need help getting anywhere." He tapped the side of his head, "Super hearing and all."

She watched him navigate the stairs, bypass the PT Cruiser and step into the middle of the two ruts leading to the highway. I could leave right now. Just walk away. Breathing suddenly seemed more difficult. Twenty yards away, Cayne paused and turned her direction, one eyebrow raised.

She didn't raise her voice. "Was Silas right? Are you angry?"

"I'd say haunted was a better description, though I certainly want to lay into someone, someone who deserves it."

"Hauntings make for good stories," she said. "In reality they're not much fun. That's why I'm staying. I've got to lay these things to rest. And Silas, I think he can help me. You should look for a way to move on as well."

Cayne grinned, a devastating smile. Kylie thought she'd seldom met a man so good looking. It made sense though that if you were turning someone into an immortal to hang out with for the next hundred years or more, you'd pick someone who was easy on the eyes. Too bad his smile was riddled with sadness.

"Kylie, where did you have your run in with Ridley?"

"Loveland, Ohio. Just outside Cincinnati."

He nodded. "You take care."

"You too."

Silas didn't need to breathe very often, so he surprised himself by letting out a pent up bit of air when Kylie came back in the door. He released Lara who actually ran to give the young woman a hug.

"I told you she wants to be one of us," said Lara.

Kylie cringed, suffered the hug. She thought about her time here and struggled to recall the day of the week or the month. Her mom thought getting away from Loveland and everything that happened there would help her daughter move on, hence the job in Richardson. The job and her family would be expecting calls.

"What day is it?"

Lara frowned.

Silas said, "December 21st."

Kylie braced herself for their reactions, "I need to go meet my new boss tomorrow, and the realtor, and call home. My mom is probably sick with worry."

Lara said, "No that's--"

"I'll take care of these things in the morning, Lara. Did you hear if any of Ridley's usual musicians were coming to St. Louis?"

"No," she reached into his pocket and drew out a pocket watch. "The scene is closed down now. So I'll have to try again tomorrow." She glanced at Kylie. "You don't mind keeping an eye on things here, do you?"

Silas said, "Of course not. Would you care for something else to eat Kylie?"

Exhaustion was her only pressing problem. "I think I'll go to bed. I'm so tired." She started toward the hall and noticed the boxes of Christmas decorations in the alcove near the stairs.

"Do you two always decorate for the holidays?"

"No," said Silas.

"This is special for you, Kylie," said Lara. "We're going all out."

She tried to give them a wobbly smile and went to bed. They couldn't know her nightmares began at Christmas. That every decorated tree threw a shadow where she expected to see an assailant waiting. That her nightmares were populated with laughing lawn characters, and that colored lights swung about like firefly wasps ready to attack her for one wrong move, like shooting a man trying to save her.

Unfortunately in that night's version the Mayo Man reached her halfway down the hall. When he jerked her around by the hair, it was Lara white-eyed and sadistic holding her. The vampire's teeth were yellowed as the man's had been, her long fangs crusted with dentris. When Kylie broke away, and swatted her way through the colored lights, Lara laughed and stalked forward. Kylie managed to pull her .44 from the nightstand drawer and leveled it at Lara who went down with one bullet as if dead.

Kylie crept forward to see over the end of her bed and saw Silas, lying on the floor bleeding everywhere, coughing up blood and dying.