In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-5 (9 page)

Roman knelt beside them. “Please, Vanora, let me check her. I’m worried about her. I won’t hurt you or Alisha. Please, Snow Pea.”

“Don’t hurt her! If you do, I’ll burn you with these!” Vanora scooted back from him and sat cross-legged a few feet away, her crosses held out defensively.

Roman crawled quickly over to Alisha and gently turned her head so he could better see the wounds on her neck. Already the ragged punctures were fading away and her skin was cool to his touch. With his fingers, he carefully pried her lips apart and exposed her teeth, which looked longer and sharper beneath her pale gums. As he was examining her, Alisha’s face suddenly seemed to grow fuller, rosier. He placed his hand over her heart and felt nothing.

“What’s wrong, Roman?” Vanora asked softly, her hands fidgeting with the crosses.

Roman took a deep breath and yanked off his coat. Laying it over his sister’s still form, he looked up at Vanora. “Snow Pea, don’t be scared. I’ll take care of you.”

“But you’re a Vampire!”

“I’m still Roman Socoli, your brother,” Roman said passionately. “I will always take care of you like I promised. Remember, family honor. Do you understand?”

Vanora’s bottom lip was trembling and long streams of tears rolled down her face and dripped off her chin. “I want to believe you.”

Roman smiled at her and suddenly, beneath his hand, he felt Alisha’s heart start to beat and her chest heaved. She was now breathing peacefully, the blue tinge gone from her features.

“She’s alive! I knew it!” Vanora exclaimed happily.

“Snow Pea, alive the way I am,” Roman corrected. “She’s now a Vampire.”

Vanora’s face crumbled with despair. She slumped forward, the crosses hanging loosely from her slackened hand. “Are you going to kill me, too?”

“I didn’t do this, Snow Pea,” Roman said defensively. “That old man did this to her and to me. I killed him to protect you.”

“You’re really not going to kill me?” Vanora asked hopefully. Roman, who now seemed so dark and powerful, was beginning to seem like more her brother. It was becoming harder to believe that he would actually harm her in anyway.

“I could never do anything to you or Alisha. When she wakes up, she is going to be very scared just like I was.”

“Was it icky?”

“Yes, it was. I want to be here for Alisha.” Roman drew back Alisha’s top lip past her gums and saw the twin, razor-sharp teeth beginning to grow out above her regular teeth. He lifted one of her slim hands, the hands of a gifted artist, and studied her nails. They were longer and sharper just like his. “I’m going to put her in her bed now, Snow Pea.”

Vanora just stared at him in awe.

Roman lifted Alisha into his arms and carried her into her bedroom. Her face was serene, but it gave him no comfort. Tenderly, he placed Alisha on her bed and covered her with the satin comforter. He turned and saw Vanora standing in the threshold.

“What are you going to do?” she asked softly.

“Stay with her until she wakes up,” Roman responded.

“And she’ll be like you,” Vanora whispered.

“Yes,” Roman answered. “But she won’t hurt you. She will be Alisha, but different. Like I am.”

“How?”

“You’re very young and I don’t know how to explain this to you. I am Roman Socoli but I don’t feel any of the inhibitions I did when I was mortal, physically, mentally, emotionally.” Roman noticed his sister’s confused expression. “Okay, Snow Pea, it’s like waking up like Superman. Strong and powerful, but you can only come out at night.”

“And you drink blood.”

Roman rubbed his eyes wearily. “I’m trying to forget that part. I’ll find a way around it or something.  Now, listen carefully. Tomorrow, I want you to tell Miss Robbins that Alisha isn’t feeling well and does not want to be bothered. Then tell Ryan and Miss Robbins to come to my study at seven o’clock for a meeting with Alisha.”

“You’re going to bite them?”

“No, no. I need them to help me. I’m not sure what I am going to tell them, but I’ll think of something. If I’m to survive and take care of you, I will definitely need their help. And tomorrow night, when you see Alisha, don’t be afraid of her. She’ll probably be more frightened and upset than you will be.” Tears filled his eyes and he struggled to contain them.  The intensity of his emotions was difficult to deal with, but he would have to learn to adapt.

“Don’t cry, Roman,” Vanora said worriedly. “Please, Roman, don’t cry.”

Roman smiled at her tenderly. “Vanora, I am going to take care of you. I promise. Now, go to your bedroom and make sure your crosses are in place.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t hurt me,” Vanora said, her eyes narrowing.

“It is just in case there are any other vampires out there that will hurt you,” Roman answered.

“Why aren’t they hurting you now?” Vanora asked, holding her crosses slightly before her.

“Because I am not thinking evil thoughts, or doing evil,” Roman replied. “If I ever mean to hurt you, your crosses would repel me. But don’t worry about that. I will never hurt you. Now, go to sleep. Tomorrow, make sure to do the things I told you to do,” Roman instructed.

“I’m afraid,” Vanora whimpered.

“Don’t be. I won’t hurt you and I won’t let anyone else hurt you.” Roman gently patted Vanora’s cheek. Her hand tightened on her crosses, but she didn’t cringe away. “You’re a brave little girl and I will do everything in my power to protect you, Vanora. I love you. I am so proud of you. Now, go to your bedroom and crawl into bed. Alisha can’t tuck you into bed tonight, but perhaps tomorrow.”

Vanora nodded and walked backwards toward the door. “When she wakes up, take care of her, Roman.”

“I will. I promise, Snow Pea.”

Roman watched the door shut quietly behind Vanora and sighed heavily.

How he was going to make this work was beyond him. He was now something he could not fully understand. The extent of his new powers had yet to be explored. Emotionally he felt no barriers. When he had felt like killing, he had done just that. When the desire to embrace his little sister had filled him, it had taken all his willpower to hold back.

Now, gazing upon Alisha, Roman felt deeply depressed. He leaned down and tucked the blankets in around her. Somehow he knew that Alisha would not awaken until the next night, so it was safe to leave her locked in her room.  She wouldn’t wake up in a cold coffin, confused and frightened. She would be in her bed, safe and sound, with him there to comfort her.

Satisfied, Roman left the room. Now that he was fully in control of his faculties and the old vampire was vanquished, he could make plans for his family.

Downstairs, he flicked on the kitchen light. He found a full bottle of white wine in the refrigerator and poured himself a glass. The liquid calmed his nerves, so he poured himself another glass. The gleaming white kitchen was spotless, as always, and it comforting to see that all was normal within the house. It was almost impossible for him to believe that he’d been declared dead and buried, and yet, he sat in his home enjoying a glass of wine.

Roman ran a hand through his thick curls. Feeling dust in his hair, he glanced down at clothes and realized how grimy he actually was after all the events of the night.

After finishing up his glass of wine, he rinsed it out and placed it in the drainer.

Roman leisurely ambled through his house, appreciating every room and enjoying the feeling of being in his own home and not in the damned mausoleum. His mind was made up. He would not be shut out of his own home and he would find a way to continue on as he had. One thing would be certain: he would not be sleeping in a coffin and draining his neighbors. He would act as normally as possible. He would simply be Roman Socoli, if that was at all possible.

His body relaxed when he entered his bedroom. It was a relief to find it just as he had left it.  The room was decorated with some of the few pieces of furniture that had been salvaged from the estate in Romania. Running his hand along the heavy chest next to the door, Roman felt almost normal. It was difficult to reconcile everything that had occurred within his very rational mind, yet he knew it to be the truth.

Peeling off his burial clothes, he turned on the shower in the blue tiled bathroom. When the room was full of steam, he stepped under the hot stream of water. It felt good to feel the hot torrents of water washing away the filth that coated his body. He enthusiastically scrubbed shampoo into his dark hair until he felt fresh and clean.

Afterward, Roman dried off with a fluffy towel and peered into the mirror. To his great surprise he had a reflection. It was slightly transparent, but nonetheless, a reflection. Roman ran his hands over his face and leaned toward the mirror. His dark eyes burned with an intensity that they had not held before. On impulse, he pulled up his top lip to see what he had felt the night before. Sure enough, there were twin fangs retracted above his regular teeth.

“What do you know?” he murmured.

On impulse, he tried to make his fangs slide downward. Nothing happened. Roman’s brow furrowed and he tried again. Still nothing. Then a thought occurred to him. Roman deliberately remembered his attack on the junkie. The two fangs slid down over his other teeth, white and gleaming. Abruptly, his refection vanished.

“Interesting.”

Roman lowered his head and wiped the violent thoughts from his mind. He took several deep breaths and felt the fangs retract. Looking into the mirror, he was relieved to see his reflection again.

“Someone once said the mirror reflected the soul. I guess it does.” Roman leaned against the counter and rubbed his brow. It was all too much for his brain to process.

Shaking his head, Roman returned to his bedroom and dressed in his favorite gray sweater and dark corduroy slacks. Feeling more relaxed and normal, Roman shoved his feet into his well-worn leather slippers.  It was beginning to feel like a very normal evening.

Yet it was not.

He was forever changed.

Leaving the serenity of his room, Roman checked in on Alisha. She was sleeping peacefully, looking fair and beautiful on her satin pillows. Next, Roman tested Vanora’s door and found it locked. Satisfied that his sisters were safe and resting in peace, Roman hurried down the large oak staircase to the main floor and briskly walked into his study.

It was exactly as he had left it. The leather chair crackled as he sat down, an old familiar sound. He ran his hands over the armrests, then pulled open a desk drawer. The business deal he had been working on when he had been killed was directly on. The facts and figures meant nothing to him now.

Roman stood and searched a cabinet where he stored his leather journals. After selecting a new one, he returned to his desk and pulled out a pen. He stared at the blank page for a long moment, sighed, and rested his chin on his fist.

“Where to begin?” he wondered aloud.

His eyes roamed the room as he sat in silence. Everything was the same and yet, he was different. He turned to a fresh page and wrote at the top “Goals” and underlined it.

“I want to remain Roman Socoli and not become a beast,” he whispered as he wrote. “Therefore I shall not kill innocent people but I will find a new way to feed. Animal blood, perhaps? I will continue to live in my house and sleep in my bed as I always have. I will find a way to control my estate even though that means revealing myself to Uncle Nicolau.” Roman paused and pressed his fist against his mouth as he pondered the situation. “I will cling to God and fight this curse. I know that evil thoughts do nothing more than steal from my soul and from who I truly am. I must control this horrible hunger, the beast within. I will protect Alisha and Vanora, even if it means my death. If such a time comes that I would ever hurt any of them, I will kill myself.”

The words began to flow as he continued scrawling his thoughts across the pages of the journal for the next few hours. When Roman felt his limbs growing weary at last, he looked at the clock. It would soon be sunrise. Was it true that he could not go out in the daylight? He closed his journal and stored it in his desk.

Roman hurried upstairs and into Alisha’s room. He pulled the curtains shut and secured them with safety pins. No sunlight could get in, just in case the legends were true. Nervous and edgy, he paced restlessly.

“How do I know if the legend is true?” There was only one way.

Entering the hall, he stepped back into the deepest shadows and stared out the window at the far end of the hall. The sky was growing lighter, indigo turning to softer shades of lavender and blue. Gray shafts of light began to trickle through the window and onto the floor and Roman hesitantly stepped closer to the window. Pinkish-gold ribbons gleamed just above the horizon and Roman moved even closer. Pale beams of morning sunlight fell on his skin, fiercely hot, burning his flesh.

With a muffled cry, Roman fell back into the shadows.  His skin was not scorched, just reddened slightly. Now he knew. The sun could harm him.

“In darkness we must abide,” he whispered sadly.

The house was full of shadows.

As Vanora walked through the halls of her home, she felt as though she dwelt alone in a nightmare-world.  The once comfortable surroundings seemed strange, even menacing. Yet she had faith in Roman. Her beloved brother had promised to take care of her and since he was a loyal man who honored his family above all else, she believed him.