The Last Time We First Met - Part Four
by: Denise Underwood
c. 2001
Triona walked out to the street with her co-workers. It was late -- or
early, she supposed -- and she wanted nothing more than to get back to her
hotel and bed.
She pondered her evening. While her companions had danced and drunk the
night away, Triona had spent it chatting with Janette. It was the oddest
thing, how this woman she barely knew seemed to draw her life story from
her. Triona was surprised, looking back, at all she'd told the lovely
dark-haired woman. Things she'd barely ever even acknowledged to herself.
They'd ended their encounter with Janette inviting her back before Triona
left for home.
Triona wasn't sure how she felt about that. For some reason she felt an odd
compulsion to return and a connection to the mysterious owner of the Raven.
And she also felt a tingle of danger at the thought of returning. She was
sure her little voice was trying to warn her -- if only she would listen.
Sighing, she watched most of her party get into a waiting cab, leaving her,
Mark, and Susan to get the next one. Mark and Susan leaned against each
other drunkenly, laughing at something Triona was sure only they would find
funny.
Mark called out, "Hey, Trie, you sure are the party animal!" That comment
sent her two inebriated companions into paroxysms of laughter. "You know
you're going to give all investment bankers a reputation of being boring if
you don't loosen up a bit!"
Triona's reply was lost in screams as something attacked the laughing
couple. Before she even had time to register what was going on, Mark's
throat was being torn at by something that couldn't be a man. Then he
dropped to the ground with a shuddering finality. Susan's screams were cut
off as her attacker snapped her neck, and she too fell to the ground.
Then the creature turned to Triona. "I'm sure you'll be the life of the
party, beautiful lady," he half growled through his fangs, advancing
towards where she stood.
It was Anatole. And he was a vampire. The thought registered in Triona's
stunned brain as she moved backwards. "You didn't have to kill them," she
said so calmly she shocked herself, "it was me you wanted." You're trying
to reason with a monster, she thought hysterically.
"But I like killing. And I'm going to love killing you." He extended his
hand. "Come here," he commanded in the same voice he'd used earlier in the
Raven.
Triona felt the same odd urgency to obey. As she fought it off, fear took
over and she ran. Anatole grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. As she
screamed piercingly into the night, the vampire hit her across the face,
stunning her. '"You will obey me!" he snarled.
"Go to hell!" Triona gasped out, finding her voice from somewhere.
Anatole flung her away, propelling her into the wall. Triona hit the
unyielding brick and collapsed to the ground. "I really will enjoy you,
mortal."
As he advanced on her, Triona managed to find the strength to pull the
cross she wore out of her blouse, not knowing if it would work at all.
Saying a silent prayer, she waited until the vampire leaned down to her,
then flung the cross against his cheek. It worked -- but only to enrage the
vampire even more as the cross burned his face. She felt consciousness
slipping away and her one small protection fell from her hand. Her last
thought was for Stephanie. She wept inwardly at how alone her young cousin
would now be -- then all went black.
****************
"Triona, can you hear me? Wake up. You're safe and the police will be here
soon."
She tried to focus on the voice. Female with a French accent. It kept
insisting she was safe. Why did her head hurt so badly? Slowly she opened
her eyes, not sure at first who the woman looking down on her was. Then she
remembered and she shrank back in instinctual fear; so many pieces of a
puzzle she didn't understand snapping together in her traumatized mind.
"It's all right, Triona. Anatole is gone," Janette reassured. "I give you
my word you will come to no more harm."
Triona realized she was lying on a bed, in a dark room lit by candles.
"Police? What am I going to tell the police? Susan and Mark were murdered
by a vampire?" She laughed, a harsh sound from deep in her throat. "That
they were killed because of me?" She began to cry.
"Non! You are not responsible. I should have never let you leave
unescorted. I thought my threat would be enough to warn Anatole off. I was
wrong."
"What do I say? I have no idea. My head hurts," she whispered to one in
particular.
"Just...." She was interrupted by a new voice in the room.
"Is this the witness, Janette?" a male voice asked.
"Oui, Nicolas. But she is hurt, so please, don't upset her."
The man came into view. Blonde curls, light eyes -- a cherub's face. "I
don't make a habit of upsetting the victims of violent crime. You should
know that, Janette."
"I did not mean it that way, Nicolas. She has just been through a
tremendous ordeal and I wish her pain eased. That is all." Janette turned
to Triona. "Triona, this is Nicholas Knight. He is a homicide detective,
and you can speak freely to him," she told her, emphasizing the 'him'.
"Do you feel up to discussing this, Ms. MacAlpine?" the detective inquired
solicitously. "You should be checked out by a doctor you know. You may have
a concussion."
"Maybe later, Detective. But right now I'd just like to get this over with."
Nick nodded, asking, "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
Triona looked over at Janette who gave her a small nod of
reassurance. Taking a deep breath, she recounted what happened as best she
could remember. "I thought I was dead, and then I woke up here."
"It would be better if you forgot all this, Ms. MacAlpine," Nick told her.
"But from what you say of your experience with Anatole, it would appear
you're a resistor." He looked at Janette. "What are we going to do with her?"
"You're not going to do *anything* with me, Detective," Triona said with a
note of asperity. "I'm not a child for you to manage away!"
Janette smiled. "She'll stay with me." She waved away Nick's protest. "Who
better to protect her from one of our kind, hmm? She won't be safe in her
hotel -- he undoubtedly heard where she was staying when the others caught
their cab," she pointed out. "Triona?"
She nodded. Somehow her life seemed to be spinning away on its own and
where it led seemed to be no place she had ever imagined. Janette, for good
or ill, seemed to be the catalyst. "I feel safe here." Triona looked at
Nick, who seemed unhappy with the arrangement, but didn't have a better
solution. "And officially? What is the story, Detective Knight?"
"The assailant threw you against the wall, you lost consciousness and never
saw anything of the murders or the murderer." He pointed to Janette. "The
owner of the Raven heard screams, ran out with several staff members and
scared off the perp before he could kill Ms. MacAlpine. Any questions?"
Both women shook their heads. "Good. Ms. MacAlpine, I'll contact you
tomorrow evening."
***********
Triona sorted through the receipts and bills of lading that covered
Janette's desk like a blizzard. \\What on earth is she going to do if she's
audited?// She thought bemusedly as the blizzard became organized mountains
covering the surface of the desk.
She'd woken a few hours past dawn, her head feeling like it would split
open. Janette had told her, before wishing her a good night, to make
herself at home. She'd also left food and a thermos of tea for her should
she feel hungry later on. So Triona had moved into the sitting room with
her thermos, feeling restless and a bit hysterical. Deciding that she
couldn't deal with what happened last night, she pushed it firmly away. The
pile of bookwork on Janette's desk was a soothing symbol of normalcy that
she grabbed onto for dear life.
Many hours later, the tea long gone, Triona looked with satisfaction at
what she'd accomplished. All the piles were now filed in the right places
and all the ledger entries were up to date.
"My, you have been industrious!" a voice said from behind her. "But you
should be resting," Janette chided gently as she walked over to the desk,
her black lace negligee swishing around her legs.
Triona looked slightly embarrassed. "I hope you don't mind...." She waved
her hand at the desk. "But I wanted to help, and I needed something to keep
from falling apart," she finished apologetically.
Janette looked closer at the desk. "You did all of it? I can't believe it.
No, of course I don't mind. Though I believe you're slightly over-qualified
to be doing the books of my club."
"I loved doing it, honestly. I liked feeling I was helping someone who
needed it and not just making more money for someone that already has too
much," she said, grinning wryly. "But, Janette, my professional opinion?
You need to hire a bookkeeper. If you were ever audited.... Well, it would
be bad news!"
"As you might imagine, Triona, hiring accomplished staff isn't always easy
in my particular circumstances. I've had very little luck with the
accounting help I've engaged since buying the club."
"No, I don't suppose it is," Triona replied as she stood up and stretched.
"I'd be happy to set your accounts up on a computer." She looked at Janette
with a wicked gleam in her eye. "You do know what those are, right?
Machines that are all the rage right now. Replaced the abacus."
"Computer? Me? I wouldn't allow one of those dreadful little machines in my
club! Paper and pencil are quite adequate."
Triona rolled here eyes, grinning. "Yes, I can see how well you're doing
with those."
"Are you taunting me, young woman?" she replied with mock sternness. "I
won't tolerate such disrespect. Unless of course...." She trailed off, a
satisfied look on her face. "Unless of course you worked for me. How do you
feel about managing a nightclub?"
Triona sat back down again, nonplussed. "I beg your pardon?"
"It would be perfect. I need someone I can trust -- a mortal -- to be here
during the day. To take deliveries, to deal with all the annoying little
details that only seem to happen in the full light of day. And I need a
business manager, a discrete one. My business doesn't only involve what you
see on face of it. I have...varied interests around the world that I'm sure
would prosper under your professional care."
Triona sat in stunned silence, not believing she was actually considering
the vampire's -- and even though it had never been spoken, she knew that's
what Janette was -- proposal. "It's not that I'm not flattered...." She
shook her head, grasping for the right words. "After what happened last
night...how sane would it be for me to accept?"
"Anatole will be dealt with -- and made an example of," Janette said in a
voice that made Triona shiver. "No one defies me here that does not pay a
price. You will be as safe as it is possible to be safe in these times."
Janette took Triona's hand. "Stay, cherie. You need not be alone ever
again...."
*********************
Denise * ithildin@ondragonswing.com* Ith
http://www.ondragonswing.com
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