Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (13 page)

He pointed at a bearded vampire that held an unlit pipe in his one hand.  “That’s
Jones.  His master chopped off his arm when he asked mercy for the older cattle. 
Jones only wanted those folks to live the rest of their lives awake and unhassled.” 
Michelle gave Jones a once over.  The man carried himself like a physics professor,
and his eyes were indeed haunted. 

“That’s all I know though,” the redhead said.  “Some houses keep to themselves.”

Sainvire nodded and clapped the smaller vampire on the back.  “Thank you, Charles. 
How many babies and children did you look after?”

“I was looking after half of the city’s children.  Say about 80.”

Victoria, a woman who dressed like a schoolmarm, timidly elaborated, “We have 20 infants,
10 toddlers, and the rest are children that range from 5 to 12.  The total count would
be 123 children.”

“Thanks, Victoria,” said Poe.  “That was a brave thing you did.  Now I have to conduct
some testing.”  She uncapped a three-inch syringe.  The Ancients walked protectively
next to her wherever she and Morales approached each ex-slave.  Morales listened to
a human’s heartbeat while Poe poked a needle under his or her nails. 

The tedious experiment continued with no substantiating results.  “They say sticking
needles under fingernails was one of the most painful torture devices ever invented,”
said Poe.  “But we’re not here to torture.  Like I said, we’re just checking something.”

She smiled at an SD runaway vamp dressed like a mannequin.  “My.  You must be awfully
strong to carry these three mountain men on your own.”  The eyes of the human on the
first bunk flickered.  “Forget this guy, Morales.  He’s pretty out of it.”  Once Morales
stepped out of the way, Poe dug the needle into the human’s toe nail.  Immediately
the supposedly comatose man sat up and cursed up a storm, mostly directed at Poe. 
His bunk mates sat up as well, fear burning in their eyes.

The well dressed vampire hissed, and his fangs elongated into a pretty two inches. 
“Get up, you leeches!” he ordered and brought out a Glock 22.  Before he could point
the weapon at anyone, Stanza took hold of the vampire’s hand and crushed it with the
gun still in his clutches.  The vampire squealed like a murdered animal and fellto
his knees.

Kilbur lifted all three leeches by the cuff of their gowns.  He was fast for an Ancient. 
Plasmacore is a hell of a drink
, thought Poe.

The rest was smooth sailing after the initial bust with three more double-agents and
their leeches coming forward on their own.

“To those who passed with flying colors, we commend you.  And we apologize for putting
you through this ordeal.  We’re proud to have you with us,” said Maple, who’d been
quiet but alert. 

Sainvire, Maple, Joseph, Rufus, Michelle, and Poe met up at the cafeteria an hour
later.

“Let’s have the three SD vamps chomp down on this for a while.  Their every word is
being monitored and recorded.  Forget about them trying to escape, either.  When we
told them their guards are the two Ancients that crushed GQ’s hand, they were shitting
masonry,” said Michelle.  “We’ll find out more in the morning.  In the meantime, got
any more ideas?”

Poe slurped her pasta, chewed quickly, and swallowed with satisfaction.  “As we speak,
Maclemar, Morales, and a couple guys are stripping the cars these SD vamps brought.”

“Huh?” said Michelle, confused.

“Well I figure that’s the best way to destroy our sense of safety – terrorist bullshit. 
And looking back at past warfare, I think of bombs placed strategically in cars. 
Could be nothing, so I haven’t made a big deal out of it.”  Poe forked more pasta
shells in her mouth.  Sainvire grinned.

“Joseph.  Mind checking on those guys?”

“Nope.  I’m getting tortured myself watching Poe devour my favorite food of all time.” 
He looked at his half-filled glass of Plasmacore and grimaced.  He downed the lab-produced
blood, winced, and said his adieu.

“I’ll join him,” said Rufus.  “I’m bored.”

“Michelle, I need to talk to you about something,” said Sainvire. 

“Can you wait?  I want to know more about this bomb thing and why I wasn’t told about
it.”

“I told Poe to keep it under wraps.  Even from you.  Now come on.”  Sainvire not so
subtly pointed his jaw at Maple, swirling Plasmacore in her glass.  Michelle’s eyes
widened, finally understanding what Sainvire was getting at.  Maple and Poe hadn’t
spoken since the girl killed Perla’s hostages.

  Poe wiped her mouth with a napkin and realized the setup.  For the life of her,
she couldn’t think of what to say.  The usually taciturn vampire broke the silence. 
Thank goodness
, thought Poe.

“You did well tonight,” said Maple.  We’re glad you’re here looking out for us.  You’ve
grown into a very intelligent, confident woman.  I’m very proud of you.”

Poe’s eyes misted.  “I have a lot of faults, too, Maple.  I do inhuman things.”

“You do things that must be done but the rest of us are too cowardly to do.  You and
Sainvire have been handling the dirty jobs for us.  So I thank you.”

“I wasn’t going to harm Perla, you know.”

“I know that.  But I love her so much that I had to protect her as a precaution.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“No.  She won’t leave the Alexandria.  People say she’s creating an army of bedridden
vampires.”

“I’m sorry, Maple.”

“I’m sorry, too, Poe.”  The vampire rose and sat next to Poe.  She kissed Poe’s cheek
and the two embraced.

“You guys are my family, Maple.  We’ll get Perla back somehow.”

Maple hugged her even closer but did not say a word.

T
HE
S
AN
D
IEGO
LEECHES
spilled the beans.  The vampires sent by the House of Runer were to observe, and
once a month one of the three would drive back to San Diego and report.  The leeches’
role was to roam during the day, take notes of the humans living in the city, and
gauge their health.  If they could provide food for another 10 years, then they would
be worth retaking.

Poe’s hunches, sharpened with age, were correct in assuming that the cars owned by
the SD vamps were rigged with explosives.  Maclemar and Morales needed help from the
diminutive halfdead, Ed, who could push an entire locomotive by hand.

“I don’t want to chance it,” said Morales.  “If I snip the wrong colored wire, my
kid will be left with one daddy.”

“I understand, my friend,” said Maclemar, clapping his friend on the back.  “You’re
the most valuable man Downtown, Doc.  As for me, you’ve been teaching me bombmaking
and detonation for over a year now, but my skills are still questionable.”

“You’re better than others, Maclemar.  But I’m not going to chance you.  The little
one will kick my ass if anything happens to you.”

“It’s not what you think.  We’re just roommates to scare off each other’s nightmares. 
She asked me to leave with her in a week.”

“And are you?”

“I love her.  I’ll do anything for Poe.”

“And she loves you?” asked Morales with a serene smile on his face.

“She said she does.  But I know how she feels about Kaleb.  I’ll take what I can.”

Morales nudged Maclemar on the arm.  “You both deserve peace and happiness.  Our Poe
needs to stop killing.  It’s gnawing on her soul.  After what Trench did to her, Sainvire
shouldn’t have asked her to leave her island paradise.”

“If she hadn’t come, this town would still be divided.  And don’t forget the spies
and these cars with explosives.”

Ed, an unassuming Central American man with a slight accent, lifted a Volkswagen and
walked it to an expansive park behind Chinatown.  He came back for the other two cars
and left them at the outskirts of town.

The two men and the halfdead made their way back to the Biltmore, ready for some shuteye.

Maclemar shut the door quietly to their room.  He kneeled on the floor to pat Penny’s
head and kissed her on the ear.  “You’ll be better soon, my pet.  Hang in there.” 
The poor dog’s middle was bandaged tightly, and he couldn’t help but feel pity.

He undressed in the bathroom and showered.  Working with explosives wasn’t at the
top of his list of favorite activities.  The ever-present danger gave him the shakes. 
He preferred fixing cars, buses, airplanes, boilers, and plumbing, or figuring out
to how to expand and maintain electricity citywide.  But bombs?  He’d rather make
love to Julia Poe 3,000 times. In Gilroy, Poe had asked him to make love to her, and
he happily complied.  However, before the two could finish with their commingling,
Sainvire interrupted to his painful annoyance.  Kaleb Sainvire was a friend, but when
it came to Poe, he didn’t always know what to do with her. 
I
know what to do with her.  She’s my goddess.  I’ll love her until my dying breath,
he thought dramatically.

He flossed as Poe had insisted despite his pleas that it was against the British code
to tend to teeth too often.  He brushed his teeth and tongue like Poe had instructed. 
The little fighter sure had her opinions.  Because of the trauma brought on by the
Gray Armageddon and fighting vampires, her menses had stopped over a decade ago. 
Maclemar, if he were honest with himself, would have liked mini-Poes bouncing on his
knees, but he would have settled for Julia’s love anytime.

  Maclemar put on some boxers and slipped inside the sheets.  Half-asleep and settling
herself into the hollow of his arm, Poe turned to her roommate.  “You smell good,”
she said sleepily.  “Any bombs in the cars?”

“Yes.  All three.  You were right,” he said, smelling her fragrant hair.  Poe’s eyes
opened wide, and she leaned on her elbow. 

“Are you okay?  How about Morales?”

“We’re both good.  We left the heavy lifting to Ed.”

Poe kissed Maclemar’s scratchy chin.  The man needed to shave at least twice a day. 
“If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself.”

“You talk as if you’re in love with me,” said Maclemar, kissing her forehead.

“I do love you.  I think about you all the time.”

“But then there’s Sainvire.  He was your first love and—”

“I was 22 when I met Sainvire.  I’m 26 now.  I’m aware of the different layers of
love I feel for people like you, Joseph, Morales, and so forth.  Sure, I love Sainvire,
but he doesn’t love me enough to give up his work.  And it’s important work, mind
you.  Without him, the city would implode.  He’s chosen Downtown over me,” said Poe
with resignation.  She curled her fingers into his chest hair, her favorite distraction. 
“But you, James Maclemar, I love because you love me for me, soot and all.  You’re
willing to die for me and love me until I’m old and wrinkled.  And you’re willing
to live with me in isolation.  Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

Maclemar grunted.  “’Course I am,” he said.  “Wherever you are is my happiness.”

Poe had the urge to cry but hugged her big bear instead.  “I love you, James.  Always.”

She sniffed and sought his generous mouth and kissed Maclemar, her unsure tongue saying
hello to his eager one.  They kissed for what seemed like minutes until both were
in danger of shedding their clothing.

“You’re so beautiful, sweetheart,” said Maclemar, cupping her breasts then capturing
each full mound in his mouth.  Poe moaned and the sound excited Maclemar.  His finger
entered her and found moistness.  He massaged her little nub until Poe was groaning.

“Maclemar,” she said hoarsely.  “I love you so.  I’ll make you happy.  Please.”

The Welshman braced himself on his powerful arms and sought her lips.  Poe guided
him inside of her.  All the faces of her past drifted away including Trench who had
violated her and Sainvire who had more important things to do than love an inconsequential
girl.

Maclemar’s length and bigness rode Poe slowly as if afraid she would break.  “Faster,
James.  I’m won’t shatter.”  The man groaned and made love to Poe harder and more
intense than he had intended.  He held himself until Poe screamed her pleasure. 

“I love you, beauty,” he said, holding Poe tightly in his arms.

“I love you, James.”  She truly meant it.

***

Their friends lined up to shake hands with Julia Poe and James Maclemar as Percy stood
excitedly next to them.  Joseph winked at her while Morales slapped her behind to
the dismay of Maclemar.  “I’ve always wanted to do that, buddy.  Now that she’s yours,
I thought I’d better do it now or never.”

Maclemar shook his head, and Poe punched Morales’ stomach not too hard.  “You take
care of Percy,” said Joseph.  “Make sure to make an intellectual out of her, Maclemar. 
Poe, you train her into a Van Damme splits expert.”

“We’ll take good care of her, mate,” Maclemar said.  Poe hugged Percy.  When Poe had
asked the girl to live on the island with Maclemar and her, Percy cried in her hands. 
The 10-year-old had been an orphan as long as she remembered.

Sainvire stood on the lowest step in only a black t-shirt and dark slacks and shook
the Welshman’s hand.  “Take good care of her, James.”

“Will do, Kaleb.  I know you’ll keep watch over these parts.”

“I’ll try,” he said.  His light gray eyes found Poe’s brown ones.  “You take care,
Poe.  You’ll always be a superhero around here.  Whenever you decide that Catalina
bores you, you always have a home with us.”

Poe shook his hand.  “Thanks, Sainvire.  I’ll see you real soon for Christmas.”

“Real soon,” he repeated.

Ed was waiting next to a truck laden with Poe’s DVD and VHS collection from her old
bunker.  Much of the selection was pornography, and Ed and Maple clamped their mouths
shut to keep from laughing.  The girl certainly watched everything she got her hands
on without prejudice.  Penny had a small nook in the back seat where rattling wouldn’t
disturb her as much, and Chops, all 110 pounds of her, remained in the back with the
clothing, tools, paperbacks, and movies.