VROLOK (54 page)

Doc was lying on the bed in the dark, opened letters lying scattered on the floor beside the bed. The letters where crumpled and yellow; they had obviously been read many times. Isabella opened the curtain and Doc opened his eyes.

“Ah, it’s the lady who cheats death,” Doc said. The stench in the room was vile. Isabella proceeded to open a window to let in some fresh air.

“I haven’t ever cheated death—I have just avoided it,” Isabella corrected.

“Avoided it. I see. You will have to teach me how to do that someday.”

“Perhaps I will…someday. Who are these letters from?”

“Mattie.”

“Why don’t you go back to her?”

“Go back to her to cough and spit all over her?”

“She has already seen you the way you are now, when Morgan rescued her and brought her back to you.”

“She couldn’t bring herself to look at me.”

“I am sure that is not true.”

“No, I sent her home. I didn’t want her to know who I am. I wanted her to remember the eighteen-year-old that I used to be, before my lungs started to rot.”

“She still writes to you. Do you think she would do that if she couldn’t look at you?”

“She is too kind to stop; she writes to me only because she pities me.”

“Nonsense. You are the only one who pities you…get up and go outside. I think your friends are going to need you soon.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The McLaurys and the Clantons are threatening to kill Wyatt and his brothers. He has caused yet another fight.”

“He will get himself killed one of these days,” Doc said.

“Or worse…he will get someone that is close to him killed,” Isabella said as she left.

When Doc had a few minutes to think about what she said, he knew she was right and he was worried for Morgan. So he got up, got dressed and went outside. As he walked down the street he met Morgan, Wyatt, and Virgil; he joined them and headed towards the OK Corral. Isabella watched as they disappeared from her line of vision and went down the next street. She listened for the gun shots and waited and watched to see who would survive.

“Why aren’t you going over to see what you can do?” Nicolae asked.

“Have you forgotten I am a Vampire? I am not supposed to help humans—I am supposed to kill them.”

“That has never stopped you before.”

“I have saved him once─perhaps that was one more time than he deserved.”

“There is more to it than that; you are not telling me something.”

“The truth is he has a woman who loves him somewhere and he is too afraid to go home to her. He would rather stay here and defend Wyatt; even if it kills him.”

“And that reminds you too much of yourself.” Isabella looked over at Nicolae and walked over to him; she laid her head on his chest and put her arm around him.

“You are so like him.”

“Who?”

“Nicolae, my Nicolae, I try and remind myself that you are not him but the things you say. So like the things he would have said.”

“And that is a bad thing?”

“No. I suppose not. But you differ in one aspect; he would never have forgiven me.”

“Yes he would have, Isabella, you underestimate yourself.” The shooting stopped and Isabella went back over to the side of the road to watch the survivors coming around the corner. Wyatt and Virgil were first to appear, Wyatt was holding Virgil up, then Morgan appeared; he had also been hurt but was able to walk by himself. Isabella’s grip on Nicolae tightened; there had been many shots fired, Isabella was frightened for Doc. Perhaps she should have helped him. But then off in the distance she heard a cough. She released her tight grip on Nicolae and ran across, leaning over the hitching rail to see Doc walking around the corner. It seemed that Doc was never going to die in a gunfight.

The gunfight at Tombstone did nothing to dissipate the tension; in fact, it made it worse. For Vampires the threat of violence was always a good thing. If a few people died there were always plenty of people to blame. But for Doc and especially for Morgan the threat of violence was far from a good thing.

Morgan was in Campbell and Hatch’s billiard parlour the night he died. Doc, Wyatt, and Virgil were with him. Morgan was in good humour, but then he always was. He relished the danger and loved Tombstone.

“Stillwell and Clanton have been threatening us again,” Virgil began.

“You worry too much. We are more than a match for any of them,” Wyatt answered. Morgan was up on his feet to take his shot.

“We can kill them all, and the world would be better off without them,” Morgan laughed. Doc’s coughs could be heard from the other side of the room. “Or Doc can give them all consumption and we can get them that way.” Doc would have never allowed anyone else to say this except for Morgan.

“For you, Morgan, I will try and cough on them as much as possible.”

“Don’t bother Doc. Knowing our luck they would probably last as long as you have,” Morgan answered. The whole group of men started to laugh and Morgan bent down over the table to take his shot. The men jumped as they heard the glass of the front window break. It was raining heavily outside and Doc ran over to see why it had shattered. Whatever or whoever had smashed the window was no longer there.

“I can’t see anything,” Doc said. But his words were ignored.

“Morgan!” Wyatt cried out. Doc turned around slowly, afraid of the scene he would see behind him. Morgan was lying on the floor, collapsed at his side.

“He has been shot in the back!” Virgil said. Doc was devastated his best friend in the world was dying. He tried to think how he could save him. Then a memory ran through his mind. He had been in this situation before, sitting beside someone who had been shot in the back.

“Isabella,” he whispered. Doc left the bloody scene and searched for Isabella. He found her on the outskirts of town but he was not happy when he saw her, for that was the night he found out what sort of creature she was.

Isabella was calling over to a young-sixteen-year-old boy when Doc found her. An inner voice told Doc not to make Isabella aware that he was nearby.

“Daniel, come over here, there is something I want to give you,” Isabella’s voice sounded like an angels, no one could have resisted her call. Daniel walked over to her, his eyes full of admiration. Daniel walked to his death. When he was within reaching distance Isabella grabbed his throat and lifted him up. She bit down hard on his neck, Daniel was now struggling for his life; the admiration that had been in his eyes was now replaced by terror. Isabella eventually let go and Daniel’s limp, lifeless body fell on to the dusty street.

Isabella looked up to see Doc; blood was still dripping from her mouth. Doc was horrified it was not some wonderful magic that Isabella possessed, that it was a disease far worse than his own. She was some sort of ungodly creature; whatever way she cheated death could not help Morgan. He was a far better being than Isabella ever was. Doc returned to the place where Morgan was dying in utter devastation.

Isabella watched as Doc walked away. Doc had liked Isabella; he had even held her in great affection, until he realised what she was. For Doc was a man who could not tolerate a woman’s failings, no matter what they were. Isabella had not felt this type of disgust for what she was in a long time and it hurt her, but she would go and see what had upset him so utterly. She walked over to the billiard room. The scene was desolate; Morgan’s wife was crying at his side and he was in dreadful pain, totally aware that he was going to die. His last minutes on this earth would be spent in tortuous agony. Isabella acknowledged that Morgan did not deserve this.

“John?” she said to Doc, for she did not feel she was entitled to call him Doc anymore. “I need to speak to you.”

“What do you want?” he retorted, barely able to look at her.

“I need to talk to you.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“I have something to say to you. Come with me.” Isabella used her influence and Doc followed her out into the street.

“My friend is dying in there, and you have dragged me out into the street to explain the creature that you are.”

“I brought you out here to offer you something.”

“Offer me what?”

“I can take his pain away.”

“By making him like you?”

“No. Just by touching him. You have to trust me.”

“I will trust you this one last time, because of Morgan…do it.” Isabella went into the room Doc followed her. Isabella sat down beside Morgan and held his hand; the pain flowed through her. Morgan was now content and could die in peace. Isabella got up and left the Earps to their grief.

Isabella had had enough of Tombstone and made up her mind to leave with Nicolae as soon as she could. Before she had time to leave, Doc came to see her.

“I am sorry for my behaviour the night Morgan died.” He said the last part with a slight smile. He was trying to break the tension that now existed between them.

“Don’t apologise; your true colours were shown,” Isabella said, as always it would take more than a mere apology to win back her regard.

“I am sorry, anyway,” Doc said.

Isabella did not want to listen to incessant apologies, so she said, “Never mind, I am sure I will live.” Isabella added with a wry smile, “What are you going to do now without Morgan to look after?”

Doc became serious again and said sternly, “Find his killer,” Doc stated.

“Do you know who it was?”

“We have our suspicions.”

“But you don’t know for sure.”

“No.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Kill them all. It’s the way Morgan would have done it,” Doc said, a poignant sense of remembrance echoing through his words.

“That’s not very practical; it may get you all killed. I can help you,” Isabella said.

“How?”

“One of my many abilities is that I can tell what people have done in their lives by touching them. I can see their worst crimes.”

“You can?”

“I can.”

“By the merest touch?”

Isabella nodded. “By the merest touch,” she repeated.

The McLaurys, the Clantons, and Frank Stillwell were sitting outside the Alhambra. They were laughing and pointing over at the Earps, who were on their way to bury Morgan. Isabella walked beside them with her right hand at her side. She glided past them, and as she did she very gently touched each man in turn. Doc was waiting for her at the end of the street.

“Well, who was it?”

“The one on the end,” Isabella answered.

“Stillwell,” Doc said under his breath.

“I can do something else for you. I can give him Morgan’s pain. He can experience everything that Morgan did in one in one exquisite, agonising moment.”

Stillwell was walking by the southern tracks in Tucson when Isabella confronted him. Wyatt and Doc were with her. At first he turned to run but Isabella pulled him back. Wyatt was amazed at Isabella’s strength but said nothing.

“Do you remember my brother?” Wyatt asked.

“I didn’t do it,” Stillwell lied.

“You’re a liar, Stillwell,” Doc said.

“Do you know what it feels like to be shot in the back?” Isabella asked. Stillwell ignored her; he was more concerned by Wyatt’s and Doc’s presence. He did not realise that the real danger he was in was from Isabella. She leaned into him and whispered, “
This is what it felt like.
” Isabella placed her hand on his heart and Morgan’s pain seared through him. Stillwell screamed out and tried to push Isabella away from him, but he was nowhere near strong enough. After a few agonising minutes Isabella let go and Stillwell fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Doc pulled him back onto his feet and shouted, “Did you kill Morgan?”

Stillwell looked away from Doc and answered, “Yes!”