Dominion of the Damned (18 page)

“Which do you believe?”

“I don’t know what to believe.”

He held her gaze steady. “I don’t experiment on children. I merely use samples of their blood in my tests, for the same reason I just told you.”

“What tests?” Before he could answer, she noticed his reflection in the stainless steel toaster at the end of the counter. She reached over and opened one of the glass cabinet doors, and angled it until she could see his reflection in that, too.

He watched her with an amused look on his face. “Vampirism is a virus, Miss Jordan. An illness.” The look of amusement gave way to one of sadness, and he looked down at his hands. “I’m not some magical, supernatural creature that can defy the laws of physics. I’m just a man whose DNA has been altered.”

“So, you’re not undead?”

He looked at her, and she was struck by the pain and frustration etched in his face. “Not… not like the shamblers. It’s a kind of walking death, but not like them. The virus doesn’t kill you, the process does. The virus brings you back, but,
altered
.
Your metabolism slows to the point where you don’t show signs of aging, you can’t digest normal food, you can’t procreate, and, well, you’ve seen what the sun does to us. Yet at the same time you heal at incredible speed, all of your senses are heightened and you’re stronger and faster than you ever believed possible. In a lot of ways, you’re
more
alive.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to explain. But I do think that the vampiric virus is similar to the one that is currently plaguing humanity. Perhaps even related. That’s what my research is about. I
am
working on a vaccine.”

“For vampirism?”

“For the resurrection virus.”

“Why?”

“To release humanity from the ‘protection’ of my kind.”

“But, why?” He didn’t seem to understand the question, so Hannah clarified. “I don’t get it. You’re one of them, and they’re in charge. And yet, here you are, rescuing us from that hell hole, risking your life for a little girl you barely even know, and now you’re actively trying to save humanity? Why? Why would you want to free us? Why do you even care?”

He stared at her, long and hard, before saying, “Because, vampire or not, I am not a bad man, Hannah Jordan. I care because it’s the right thing to do. And because I haven’t given—” He stopped himself and looked away.

“Given what?” she prodded.

He sighed. “For the last sixty years, I’ve been trying to find a cure for this… sickness that plagues me. I’m no closer now than when I started, but I haven’t given up.”

Hannah set her mug down as she realized what he was saying. “You want to be human again.” He looked almost embarrassed as she said the words. “What about everything you just said, about feeling
more
alive and practically being a superhero?”

He shrugged. “In exchange for outliving everyone you grow to care about? Never getting to have a family of your own, never getting to feel the sun on your face… at least not if you want to keep your face?” He shook his head, slowly, sadly. “It’s not a fair trade.”

He sat there a moment in silence, lost in thought, or maybe memory. Then he said, “Anyway, lest you think too much of me for my altruistic love of humanity, I’m not doing it just for them. There are good people among the vampire race, although they are few, and they don’t hold much power. Those who do hold it are becoming so addicted to it that they’re going to destroy us all if they continue unchecked. You saw how it is with Esme, and she’s hardly unique. They’ve got other teams of scientists researching an alternative to human blood and trying to create a synthetic food source, but that sort of thing could take years to accomplish, if it’s even possible. Right now they’re content to survive on rationed blood, but sooner or later their hunger and greed will get the better of them. We’ve got to come up with this vaccine and restore the balance before that happens.”

“Is that what they think you’re doing? Working on synthetic blood?”

“Yes. And they need to keep on thinking that, or else they’ll shut us down.”

Hannah studied him as she took in everything he said. He came across as so earnest, so passionate about his goals, that it was easy to be drawn in. But she shook her head. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

He furrowed his brow and tilted his head. “Why would I lie to you about this?”

She thought for a moment, then admitted, “I don’t know. I can’t really think of a good reason.”

“Well, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can see for yourself. Join my research team.”

Sipping her coffee, she narrowly avoided doing a spit take. “Excuse me?”

“That’s the other thing I wanted to speak to you about. I’ve come to offer you a job.”

“In the lab?”

“You met my assistant, Zachary, when you arrived. He’s been grumbling for months about needing an assistant of his own. You’re qualified, and this will allow you to supervise how we take Noah’s blood. And how we use it.”

“Qualified?” she asked. “I’ve only had two years of nursing school. And my last semester kind of got derailed halfway through.”

“That still makes you the most qualified candidate in this compound. Zach gets to the lab early. After the baby wakes up, go see him. He can take the sample from Noah while you watch, and he can go over the details of the job.”

Again, she shook her head, more in disbelief than anything else. It all sounded too good to be true. And in her experience, if it sounded that way, it usually was. “I need to think about it.”

“Of course. Just remember, time is of the essence. Please talk to Zach while you think.” He stifled a yawn. “I should be going. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.” He stood up and started to walk toward the living room, stopping himself just in time to avoid walking into a sun beam.

Hannah went around him and closed the curtain. “I guess you’re not going anywhere for a while.”

He stared in surprise at the sunlight outside, then at the clock in the kitchen. “I had no idea it had gotten so late. I had no intention of—”

“Don’t worry about it. Can’t do anything about it now.” She watched him stifle another yawn. “Anyway, you need to sleep. Come on. You can take my room for the day. At least somebody will get some use out of it.” Without waiting to see if he followed, she went into her room and closed the blinds. She fussed with them for a few minutes, making sure they wouldn’t let any lethal beams of sunlight through. When she turned back around, Konstantin was hanging back by the door, peering into her room.

“I really am sorry for the imposition. I’d happily sleep on your sofa, but I’d probably just be more in the way out there.”

“It’s fine,” said Hannah. Actually, it was weird, and frightening. But if he was on the up and up, and he was about to become her boss.... If she wasn’t ready to trust him, exactly, then maybe it was time to start trusting what her gut said about him.

And her gut was kind of starting to like him.

“Thank you,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed to unlace his sneakers. “Don’t try to be quiet on my account. I’m a very heavy sleeper.”

“Okay. Good night, Doctor Konstantin.”

“Hannah,” he called as she started to pull the door shut. When she paused, he said, “We were comrades in arms only yesterday. You can call me Alek.”

“Alek?”

He gave a little shrug and half a smile. “It’s short for Alexandr.”

She was a little stunned at the realization that she was just now learning his first name. She’d known him for less than a week, but it felt like he’d been part of her life for longer. She nodded. “Okay, then. Good night, Alek. Or, I guess, good day.”

He smiled. “Good day, Hannah.”

She shut the door and blew out the breath she’d been holding. Her heart was about to pound through her chest.

She returned to the kitchen with the aim of making another cup of coffee. As she picked up her mug, she noticed the present, still lying where he’d placed it on the counter. She set down the mug and picked up the thin, rectangular package. She poked a hole in the wrapping paper and peeled it back, revealing a picture frame. After tearing off the rest of the paper, her hand flew to her mouth.

She stared at a family portrait, taken at Cocoa Beach at the tail-end of Hannah’s last summer vacation. Her dad stood between Hannah and her mother, with one arm around each of them, squeezing them tight. All three of them were smiling, and the smiles looked genuine, not plastered on for the camera. Hannah remembered how her dad kept making them both laugh. Her mom was already expecting Noah by then, although she wasn’t showing yet.

A note was tucked into the corner of the frame. Hannah unfolded it and read, “I’m having the rest of your things brought down. They should arrive in a day or two. Also, please see me when you get a chance. I need to ask you about some things. Alek.”

Hannah batted away a tear on her cheek as she looked back at the bedroom door, and wondered about the being sleeping in her bed. If he was a monster, he was sure a damn thoughtful one.

A hungry cry came from the baby’s room. Hannah tossed the wrapping paper in the trash and carried the picture into the living room, where she set it in a place of honor on the mantle. She stepped back to give it one last, longing look, and then went to take care of her brother.

TWENTY-ONE

As Alek lay in bed and listened to Hannah moving about the house, he found himself thinking of Irina. Even after all these years, she was never far from his thoughts, as much as it pained him to think of her. But as he tried to envision her face, it was Hannah’s he saw.

He shut his eyes and tried to push away the vision. He told himself it was only because Hannah was so fresh in his mind. Anything else felt like too much of a betrayal. Hadn’t he already done enough to let Irina down?

The two women couldn’t have been more different. Irina had been sweet and gentle, easy-going and eager to please. She had been a peacemaker.

Hannah was a fighter. She was bullheaded and fierce, especially when it came to her brother. He admired her resolve, her willingness to do what needed to be done. She was a survivor. Like him.

Except, he wasn’t really, was he? He had survived the Nazis. Survived their camps, being forced into service, providing medical care to men he’d wanted to strangle. He’d survived it all for Irina, to get back to her, like he’d promised he would.

But he had failed that promise, and he didn’t survive that. The discovery that he was too late, that she had ended up in the showers, had ended him. All of his fighting had been for nothing. By the time he gained his freedom, Irina was already long dead.

He would have died, too, if Esme hadn’t found him. He had wanted to die. But not as much as he’d wanted to punish the monsters who’d destroyed their lives, who’d ravaged and tortured and starved his sweet bride before killing her and their unborn child.

It shamed him still, the state of weakness Esme had found him in, the moment of vulnerability that had altered him forever, taking away his ability to die. He only survived now because he had no choice. And he would never be with his Irina again.

As sleep overtook him, he dreamed of her. It was more memory than dream. They were together, in their little house, on the day the German tanks rolled into their village.

“They’re here!” said Irina, rushing in from hanging the laundry out to dry. “Alek, the Germans are here! What should we do?”

Alek dropped the newspaper he was reading and rushed to the window. Tanks lined the village square, and soldiers in S. S. uniforms were barging into houses and shops, dragging people out into the street. Swearing under his breath, he went to lock the door before turning back to his wife. “Stay calm,” he told her.

“Stay calm?” She shook her head, her face frantic. “We have to hide.”

He crossed the room to turn off the radio. “Hide where?”

She looked around the room, as if the perfect hiding place might reveal itself. “Then we have to run. If we go out the back door—”

“They’ll shoot us in the back before we make it twenty feet. ‘Rina, come here.” He opened his arms, and she dove into them, clutching him tightly. “We’ve done nothing. We have nothing to fear from them.”

“But you have ties to the rebel faction! You’ve given them money. And we’ve given food to the Landaus!”

“Shhh. They don’t know that. And that was all me. You’ve done nothing. You’re innocent.”

She pushed back to look up at him. “It doesn’t matter. Sasha told me that they’re arresting people at random. Hitler wants vengeance!”

He couldn’t think of anything to say to calm her. It was all true. She was right, they should hide. But where?

It was too late. He could hear their boots stomping on the ground outside. He pulled Irina close. “Listen to me. It will go better for us if we cooperate. Don’t fight them. Just stay alive.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he lifted her chin and looked into hers. He couldn’t bear seeing them so filled with fear. “Whatever happens, we’ll be together again. I swear it. I
will
find you, and the little one.” He put his hand on her swollen belly. “We’ll be a family again.”

She sobbed against his mouth as he kissed her. They clung to each other, pouring all of their love for each other and their child into their last kiss, as the soldiers broke the door down. “No!” he shouted as his wife was ripped out of his arms. “Leave her alone! She’s innocent!”