“Good. He was restless last night.”
“What’d you find?”
“Nothing yet. Went to the hotel that’s closest to the reservation. Asked for Chael and Williams at the front desk. Neither registered, though it was long shot that they’d use their real names now. No one seems to have seen a Middle Eastern man, either. I’ll hang around another hour or so, see if I pick up any supernatural activity. Then I’ll head out.”
His voice is ragged with fatigue. “Why don’t you come back? Let me look for them.”
“No. You stay with John-John.”
No hesitation. “Where will you go next?”
“There’s one hotel on the res. The View. Maybe I’ll have better luck there.”
His tone indicates he’s ready to end the call. “Be careful,” I say after a moment of silence stretches to fill the void. “John-John needs his dad.”
All I hear from the other end is a long, slowly released breath.
JOHN-JOHN IS STILL ASLEEP ON THE COUCH. I TAKE A chair opposite him and watch his chest rise and fall. It’s remarkable how attached I’ve become to the kid. I haven’t felt like this about anyone since—Trish. My
niece
. She’s safe with my parents in France. Who will John-John be safe with? Frey is the logical choice. But that means uprooting him unless Frey decides to stay here.
And then I will lose them both.
I should be used to the feeling.
I shake off the gloom. My feelings don’t count in this situation.
The sound of a car approaching brings me out of the chair and to the door. I step out onto the porch, closing the door softly behind me. Kayani’s police vehicle is winding its dusty way toward the house.
He climbs the steps to meet me. His face still bears the marks of sorrow, grief pulling at the corners of his eyes and mouth.
“I’m sorry.” I can’t think of another thing to say.
He bobs his head. Once. “John-John?”
“Inside. Asleep. I don’t want to leave him alone too long.”
“I thought I’d spend some time with him.”
“I think it’s a good idea.”
I hold open the door and we go inside, walking quietly into the kitchen. “Can I offer you some tea?”
He shakes his head, the hint of a smile flickering for the instant it takes him to say, “I can’t stand the stuff. I tried to get Sarah to keep coffee around, but—”
We stare at each other. Finally, I motion to the chairs around the table. “Want to sit?”
He sinks into the chair as if his body weight is suddenly too heavy for his frame. He lays his car keys on the table. He’s in civilian clothes. Jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, boots.
“Day off?”
“Week off,” he replies. “I took personal time. In case I’m needed here.”
“You will be.” Should I ask about yesterday? I don’t know anything about what happened. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. But where were Sarah and Mary buried? Is there a Navajo cemetery? Frey mentioned a communal meal. Is that part of the ritual?”
At first I think Kayani is not going to answer. His eyes grow dim and introspective. But he recovers. “There is a cemetery. But most don’t use it. The Navajo have a real fear of ghosts. If one does have relatives in the cemetery, he often doesn’t know exactly where they’re buried.”
He speaks slowly, thoughtfully, as if translating his people’s beliefs from his native tongue to English as he goes.
“Sarah and Mary were buried in a secret spot in the desert. They were buried in Navajo dress; one of Sarah’s blankets was placed in each coffin. They were buried with trinkets of their life. The purification rites were performed, then we, the parents and I, returned to the house each following a different path. So the dead could not follow.”
“And Frey?”
“Frey destroyed the tools used for the burial and took care of obliterating all footprints left behind. When we returned here, another cleansing ritual was performed. This time by a medicine man to bless the house and make it a place of peace and happiness again. After, we shared a meal, to assure the success of the ceremony.”
He challenges me with serious eyes. “Does that sound foolish to you?”
If only he knew. I have experienced more than my share of ancient rituals. None of which made as much sense to me or were as benevolent as these beautifully simple ones. “No. Not foolish. I wish I had such beliefs.”
He gives me another searching glance. “You are not a religious woman?”
“You say it as if surprised.”
“I am. You have an energy that radiates strength. Most often that comes from strong religious beliefs.”
Or from being vampire.
I pick up a sound from the living room. “John-John is waking up.”
We rise as one. Before we join him, I tell Kayani, “Thank you for explaining your customs. It’s important to me to understand.”
“It is important for
all
to understand.” He pauses. “When the time is right, I expect you to show me the same courtesy.”
With that not-so-cryptic remark, Kayani follows me into the living room.
CHAPTER 35
J
OHN-JOHN IS HAPPY TO SEE KAYANI. THE TWO TALK quietly in Navajo, giving me the opportunity to slip back into the kitchen and consider my next move.
Would Kayani stay here with John-John while I joined Frey? I’m pretty sure he would. But I don’t have a clue where this View Hotel is, and if I ask Kayani, it’s bound to spark questions. I could check for an address in a telephone book if I could find one.
I start in looking, opening and shutting each cupboard and drawer carefully and quietly. Sarah’s cupboards are all, as I suspected they would be, neat, clean and organized. It dawns on me after I go through them all that I’m looking in the wrong place. A phone book would be in her desk, of course. I don’t remember seeing one when I searched for the address book, but then I didn’t have to go through all the drawers before I found what I was looking for.
When I pass through the living room, Kayani and John-John look up.
“We’re going riding,” Kayani says. “Would you like to join us?”
“You go ahead. A city slicker like me would just slow you down.”
John-John says to Kayani, “Do you believe? She’s never been on a horse.”
Kayani gives me a sly once-over. “I believe it. We’ll take her another time.”
John-John scoots off the couch. “I’ll get my hat.”
Kayani rises, too. “Will you be all right by yourself?” “Of course. I think taking John-John riding is a great idea.”
John-John is back in a flash. He has a round-crowned hat on his head and is shrugging into a lightweight denim jacket.
“It’s awfully hot out there. Do you think you need a jacket?”
“We’re used to the heat,” Kayani explains. “And the sun is pretty fierce. Skin cancer, you know. Better to be protected.” He looks at John-John. “Did you use sunscreen?”
John-John nods, and I find myself smiling.
It’s seems such a dichotomy—Kayani spouting modern thoughts about protecting against skin cancer and a few minutes before, explaining burial rituals that include protection against ghosts.
“Okay then, we’re off.” Kayani says. “See you in a while.”
I watch the two down the steps and until they disappear around the back of the house. Then I’m back in Mary’s room. I find the phone book, one skinny little thing compared to the voluminous tomes we get in San Diego. There is a full-page ad for the View Hotel. But no real address or directions. When I call the hotel, I’m once again given GPS coordinates that I’m sure would help if I had a car with a GPS.
I can’t even ask for directions from the house specifically because I don’t know where exactly we are. I program the number into my cell phone and hang up.
My eyes wander out the living room window.
Kayani’s vehicle I’m sure has GPS.
And his keys are on the table.
I snatch them up and head for the car, pausing only to make sure John-John and Kayani have started on their ride. I see them in the distance, moving at a brisk pace, little clouds of red dust marking their trail.
So far so good.
As soon as I get to the car, though, I realize my great idea has a serious shortcoming. There’s a keypad entry system. Pressing every button on the remote does nothing except set off an alarm, which luckily I’m able to squelch. I suppose it makes sense. No cop would want his car stolen.
Shit.
I could break a window, but that’s not only impractical, it’s stupid. How would I explain it?
The ad said the hotel was located near the visitor’s center and about five miles from the lodge. Could I retrace my steps from yesterday on foot? Once I get to the lodge, how hard would it be to get directions to the hotel?
I’ve run across desert before, with Frey. The night he mentioned when the two of us were sitting in the Jeep, watching the sky, waiting for the sunrise. Was that only a couple of days ago? It seems another lifetime. So much has changed. So much has been lost.
Frey showed me the way then. Just as he has so many other times in our short acquaintance. He’s always there for me. And what have I done for him in return? Caused him misery and brought death. I can’t believe he can stand to look at me.
Well. The least I can do now is find him. Help him track down the two who orchestrated this last horror. I’ll use animal instinct. I know I’ll pick up Frey’s scent once I get close.
I leave my jacket and Kayani’s car keys on the porch. Drawing my thoughts, I center on calling the vampire. She comes willingly, flexing muscles in preparation for our trek. She’s happy to be free, happy to be hunting. It doesn’t happen often. Like the domesticated cat that seldom tastes freedom except in dreams of her primal ancestors, she relishes the prospect.
And so we run. I follow the Jeep’s tracks in the dusty earth. We retrace yesterday’s journey until the point where a fresher trail presents itself. Frey this morning. I’m tempted to follow it. But instinct says, keep on to the lodge. If I lose Frey at the first hotel because of traffic and false scents, I’ve wasted precious time.
And so we run. Senses full of the perfume of the desert, dazzled by the color and texture of the earth underfoot, distracted here and there by the growl of another predator. A warning, but half hearted. Even the cougar and wolf know they are no match for vampire.
And so we run. Familiar terrain now, I pass the monolith that gave me shelter yesterday. A flicker of human thought. A decision to make. Can I give up this sense of freedom? Do I want to?
The lodge rises up in the distance. I slow my pace. Slow my heart. I need to be human when I approach. It takes some minutes. Vampire is not ready to relinquish her hold.
Patience. Your time will come again. Soon.
Then you will have your reward.
You will have blood.
Chael’s blood.
CHAPTER 36
T
HE LOBBY IS ONCE AGAIN FULL OF TOURISTS EITHER just back or about to depart on a tour. Excitement and anticipation color the air.
I approach the concierge desk. A bronze-skinned Navajo in a long-sleeved shirt and intricate bolo of beaten silver looks up at my approach. He’s handsome, young, dark hair polished to a sheen as it falls around his shoulders. I’ll bet it’s soft.
I’m tempted to reach out and touch it.
I resist, opting instead to smile and ask, “Can you give me directions to the View Hotel?”
He looks at me with eyebrows raised in shock. “You aren’t thinking of staying with our competition instead of here, are you?”
It takes me a beat to realize he’s teasing. I hold up both hands. “Never. I’m just supposed to meet someone there.”
While I’m talking, he’s pulled a map from a rack on the corner of the desk. He’s smiling when he looks up and I imagine that thousand-watt smile coupled with that begs-to-be-touched hair have been the downfall of many a maiden.
It stirs vampire lust, and not for blood.
I ratchet down the hormones and concentrate on the directions he’s tracing on the map. “It’s only about four miles east on Monument Valley Road.”
An easy run. I thank him and leave. There are four young college-age girls behind me, all big eyes and blond hair and sexy innocence, and I wonder what kind of personal instruction in the Navajo way he offers besides directions.
I run parallel to the road, out of sight of cars, but close enough to hear the wind rush of traffic. Vampire chastises me for thoughts of the handsome boy. Her thoughts are on finding our friend. Then we kill our enemies. Carnal pleasure comes after.
I’m there in minutes. The hotel is surrounded by pinnacles of rock, mesa and sand and framed by clouds. Shadows roam and dance over the desert floor. For a minute, human Anna enjoys the view, then she’s called back by vampire.