As Twilight Falls

“No.” She shook her head. “We’re all leaving.”

In minutes, everyone was gathered around her, all talking at once.

Kadie raised her hand for silence. “Please, quiet down and I’ll tell you what I know.”

In minutes, they were all looking at her expectantly. Jeremy and Claude stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the doorway, propping each other up. Frankie, always a loner, stood by herself, a bottle of diet soda in her hand.

“Saintcrow is leaving Morgan Creek,” Kadie said, glancing around the room. “He told me to get a list of where you all wanted to go, and he’d see that you get there.”

This announcement was met with another burst of excited chatter.

“What if we don’t want to go?” The question, though quietly spoken, brought all other conversation to a halt as everyone turned to look at Rosemary.

“You don’t want to leave?” Kadie stared at Rosemary, unable to believe what she’d heard. Rosemary had been here the longest and hated it the most.

Rosemary glanced at the others. “Where am I going to go? The world I knew is gone. My children are grown and probably have children of their own.”

“But, Rose, don’t you want to see them?” Shirley asked.

“They won’t know me. I won’t know them.” She shrugged. “This is my home now. With the vampires gone, it could be a nice place to live.”

“But, how will you get along?” Kadie asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You’ll be all alone,” Chelsea said.

“No, she won’t,” Brittany said, moving to stand beside Rosemary. “I don’t have anywhere to go, either.”

“Nor do I,” Donna said. “I don’t have any children. My husband and I were divorced five years before I got trapped here.”

Kadie shook her head, bewildered. She had been certain they would all be champing at the bit to leave Morgan Creek. “Well, those of you who intend to leave need to decide where you want to go. As for the rest of you, I’ll let him know that you’d like to stay, but I don’t know if he’ll agree to that.”

“He owes it to us,” Rosemary said, her voice, as always, tinged with bitterness when she spoke about the vampires in general and Saintcrow in particular.

“Well, I’m leaving,” Jeremy said decisively, “just as soon as I can.”

“Me, too,” Claude said. “You couldn’t pay me enough to stay here one minute longer than I have to.”

Frankie nodded vigorously.

“And if that bloodsucker’s footing the bill, then it’s Hawaii for me!” Jeremy exclaimed, pumping his arm in the air. “What do you say, Claude?”

“Why the hell not? I’ve got nowhere else to go, and no one waiting for me when I get there!”

Frankie tapped her chest, then pointed at Jeremy.

“Sure, Frankie,” Jeremy said. “You can come along, too. What about the rest of you?”

Chelsea shook her head. “I’m going home. I want to see my folks.” She bit down on her lower lip. “I hope my dad is still alive. He was having some health problems last time I saw him.”

“I’ve only been here a few years,” Nancy said, “so it’s home for me, too, although I’m sure my fiancé has stopped waiting by now.”

“It’s home for me, too,” Pauline said. “My house isn’t far from here. My mother lives with me. I just hope she’s been able to look after things while I’ve been gone.”

“What about you, Shirley?” Kadie asked.

“I don’t know. I had a good job as a teacher back home, good friends. But I’ve been gone so long . . . I just don’t know how I’d explain my absence.” Her eyes widened. “He’ll erase our memories, won’t he? We won’t remember any of this.”

“I don’t know,” Kadie said. It was the truth. She didn’t know. But Saintcrow had erased the memory of this place and everything that had happened here from Marti’s mind. Had he done the same to Carl? Would he do it to Rosemary and the others?

“What difference does it make?” Jeremy asked. “Why would you want to remember this place?”

“Because it’s part of my life,” Shirley said, a note of panic evident in her voice. “Maybe not a good part, but still, I don’t want some vampire messing with my mind.”

“It’s not right,” Pauline said. “Sure, I hate this place, but I’ve grown to love all of you. I don’t want to forget that.”

“He’ll have to wipe this place from our minds.” Claude cracked his knuckles. “He can’t have us running around telling people about what those bloodsuckers did to us.”

Nancy took Kadie’s hands in hers. “You’ve got to talk to him, Kadie. Convince him that we won’t tell anyone.”

Kadie shook her head. “I’ll try, but I don’t think he’ll listen to me. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Saintcrow, it’s that he takes security very seriously.”

“This is so unfair!” Shirley exclaimed. “He’s stolen years of our lives, and now he wants to steal our memories, as well! What kind of monster is he?”

Saintcrow stood in the shadows outside Rosemary’s house, Shirley’s question echoing in his mind. What kind of monster is he?

A good question, to be sure, he mused as he pondered what his answer would be.

Just your typical monster, was the first response that came to mind, even though it wasn’t true. He wasn’t a typical monster. He was a master vampire, one of the oldest of his kind, practically indestructible, virtually immortal. He had lived hundreds of years before any of the people in the house had been born; he would live hundreds of years after they were dust.

Monster. The others in the house might think of him that way, but not Kadie. She was still a little afraid of him, still in awe of his preternatural powers, but she no longer saw him as a monster or, if she did, she hid it well.

Swearing under his breath, he walked up the stairs. He hadn’t intended to interact with those inside, but after listening to their conversation, he’d changed his mind. The people gathered in the house had two choices. He doubted they would be thrilled with either one.

A stillness like death settled over the men and women in the living room when he stepped inside. Rosemary looked at him with ill-disguised loathing. Chelsea with fear. Nancy and Shirley with apprehension. The men with suspicion. Kadie with curiosity.