Posted by The Black Knight on July 12, 2000 at 21:01:27:
Chapter 7
Early the next morning Luke sat in his house just a few miles away from the University. The door opened and a slender young woman walked in. She had long black hair down below her shoulders, very
pale skin, and soft brown eyes. She was tall and very slender and dressed in jeans, a white shirt, and a black leather jacket.
"You want something Lieutenant Alexander?" Luke asked.
"Not really Lucas." the young woman said as she sat down beside him.
"Aren't you supposed to be invited in?"
"I have an open invitation, remember." the young woman said.
"I don't believe that I caught your first name, this time."
"Karen. I like to use my real name like you do." she said.
"It's only been seventy years you'll eventually begin to change it. By the way, I prefer Luke."
"Matty prefer's Mathilda too, but we don't call her that." Karen said.
"Would you prefer that I call you my baby sister?"
"Okay you've made your point Luke." Karen said.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to ask for your help. I looked up your background and according to Walton State you have a PhD in History and a Master's degree in Criminal Psychology. So tell me why would a group of expert
kidnappers suddenly fall apart and begin killing each other. Somehow they managed to kill an eight hundred year old vampire in the process, which I find even more unbelievable." Karen said.
"You make an excellent Police Officer, but a poor detective. They kidnapped Candice Dalton and Angie followed them. She called me before she ran in and started throwing them around. One of them
figured out what she was before I got there." Luke said.
"And how did that one guy get outside?"
"I threw him out the window, why?" Luke answered.
"I thought you had this thing against killing people."
"Innocent people. The ones like that I have no qualms against tossing out windows or in front of moving vehicles." Luke said.
"Who are you do decide innocence or guilt?"
"You might just have a point there, but I doubt if even you know what it is." Luke said.
Karen looked a little offended by his statement. He stood and walked toward the door.
"Now unless you have any more pressing arguments, I would like to ask you to leave. I have had a long night and have several papers to grade." Luke said.
"Always the gentleman. The only thing that you and Dad have ever agreed on is etiquette." Karen said.
"There are some things about yourself that you cannot deny."
"Such as the fact that we could use a good dentist?" Karen quipped.
Luke rolled his eyes as he opened the door. Karen patted his cheek, smiled, and she walked out the door.
"I hate my family. One sister tries to kill everyone and another tries to make them laugh." Luke said as he walked toward the bedroom.
"It could be worse." Count Dracula said from top of the stairs.
Luke turned with a hiss. His eyes were bright red and his lips pulled back to show his fangs.
"You don't like me do you?" Dracula said as he walked down the stairs.
"Get out!" Luke growled.
"Like Karen, I too have an open invitation to your residence."
"You are my father, not my master. I open the door only to those that are welcome." Luke said.
"I came in through the window. Nice place you have here, but then you always did have good taste."
Luke put his hand on his father's throat and lifted him off the floor.
"What part of get out did you not understand?" Luke asked.
Dracula faded into mist. The mist floated across the room and solidified into the Count sitting in a chair in the corner.
"You really should learn to control your temper, or you might get yourself hurt." Dracula said.
"What do you want this time?"
"I was looking for a place to stay. I really don't mind the basement of the University, but that's a little below the standards of Lorna and Catrina. I was wondering if you would let them stay here
until I find a more suitable place." Dracula said.
"All those years in the Sultan's dungeon kind of lowered your standards a bit."
"That's not an answer." Dracula said.
"How's this for an answer. No! I don't like those two any more than they like me. I'm still convinced that Lorna had something to do with that Singapore incident."
"They're not too hard to keep up, and they don't wreck the furniture." Dracula said.
"You make them sound like pets. They're two of the most depraved sadistic beings I've ever run across. Together they're even worse that you."
"I'm sure they would be hurt if they heard that. You know that Catrina thinks of you like her own son." Dracula said.
"But I'm not. She's John's mother not mine. It's no wonder he turned out the way he did with you as a father and her as a mother."
"By the way, did I mention that John escaped from the dungeon two months ago." Dracula said.
"Oh great. With Matty, Karen, and John all here there are only three of us left." Luke said.
"Jonathan is still in Canada, the last I heard Claudia was still in Australia, and Lizabett is in Brazil." Dracula said.
"Catrina and Lorna may stay here. For a month, just make sure that they understand not to get in my way and not to go out on any hunts during the night. Karen is a cop, and a very good one. I don't
want her coming here unless she has to."
"Why do you put up with her? She's the only vampire that could truly be called an innocent." Dracula said.
"I like to hear her talk. That light, airy almost child-like voice makes her seem like the innocent she is."
"Innocence is for mortals, Lucas." a short young woman with long brown hair said as she stepped in the door.
She was followed by a young woman who was about the same height and had curly black hair. The woman with brown hair was Lorna and the other was Catrina.
"There are some of us who are innocent, Lorna. Not many, but there are some." Luke said.
"My son has agreed to allow you to stay here, provided you don't make too much trouble." Dracula said.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Catrina asked.
"What I mean is no killing, no converting, and basically no blood sucking, period. There are several bottles of blood down stairs in the wine cellar if you want to feed." Luke said.
"I agree with Luke. No killing, we already have enough attention drawn to us." Dracula said.
Dracula got up and walked toward the door.
"You may stay here until tonight. I have several papers to grade before tonight, so don't bother me." Luke said as he walked to the bedroom.
Nearly twelve hours later as the sun set, Luke returned to the University. Charli sat at the desk outside Luke's office.
"I thought you were supposed to take the week off." Luke said.
"I got bored and sick of that bland hospital food, so I checked myself out and refused a nurse."
Luke took off his coat and shut the door behind him.
"You're too stubborn for your own good. That could get you in trouble someday." Luke said.
"That's entirely possible, but not today."
"Anything new that I should know about?" Luke asked.
"Miss Dalton is taking the week off, so you have her class in twenty minutes. Our new Medieval History professor, Doctor John Tepesch is taking the rest of her classes. Oh and there are three new
transfers into your last class." Charli answered.
"I had to ask." Luke said.
"There is something odd about two of those transfers. According to their applications they were models and they refused to give their last names."
"What are their first names?" Luke asked.
"Lorna and Catrina. The other one is Janie Barker, she just transferred out of 'The Dragon Lady's' class."
"At least someone around here is showing some intelligence." Luke commented.
"Do you know those two models?"
"Why do you ask?" Luke asked.
"Their application has their sponsor as John Drake." Charli said.
"John's not even here, I hope."
"That doesn't sound very good." Charli said.
"John is Catrina's son. He makes our father seem benign."
"What does that mean?" Charli asked.
"He's what could be called a throw-back. Given certain conditions every vampire would have a hard time controlling themselves, but he doesn't try. I've seen what he can do, and the last time he got loose all that was left of his victims were a few
disconnected body parts."
"That doesn't sound good." Charli said.
"Just keep wearing that pendant until we find him. He'll respect that, it's the only thing that he does respect."
"He respects me." Catrina said from the inner office.
Luke opened the door and Catrina walked out. She smiled nervously as she walked by Charli.
"You do realize that she is a threat to us." Catrina said.
"So are you and John. If it hadn't been for my father's fondness for the both of you I would have eliminated that threat centuries ago." Luke said.
"Me, how am I threat?" Catrina asked.
"You kill for sport, and you're sloppy." Luke said.
Charli opened a desk drawer and pulled out a cross.
"Does he respect this?" Charli asked.
Catrina let out a low hiss as she turned away from the crucifix.
"No, Catrina was still a mortal woman when John was born. It wouldn't effect him any more than it does me." Luke said.
"But it does bother you?" Charli asked looking at Catrina.
"Yes, it does." Catrina growled.
Charli smiled as she dropped the cross back in a drawer and shut it. Catrina walked around the desk, put her hand on Charli's throat and lifted her off the floor. Charli grunted as she was slammed into the
wall.
"I have not felt what you would call pain in nearly two hundred years, and it is still something that I dislike. If you ever do that again, protection or no, I will rip your throat out. Do I make myself
clear." Catrina said.
"Very clear." Charli gasped.
Catrina backed away and let Charli fall into one of the seats along the wall.
"And you say I have a temper." Luke said.
Catrina smiled as she stepped to the door. Charli walked back to her desk after Catrina had left.
"You associate with the nicest people." Charli said.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"According to what I read, you're not supposed to be able to look at it that's all." Charli said.
"I can. According to how I've heard it described when a vampire looks at a cross, it sets off a series of nerves in their head. It's something similar to a migraine only worse. Eventually it will
paralyze them if they are forced to be around it long enough." Luke said.
"Then what I just did could almost be considered cruel?"
"Almost, but compared to what she and her cousin have done over the past twelve hundred years that was nice." Luke said.
"She looks like she's barely twenty five." Charli said.
"She was when my father found her. You seem to forget that we don't age, one of the perks of immortality."
"Are you trying to convince me that I want to be a vampire for the rest of time?" Charli asked.
"Not at all. There are many disadvantages as well. Most of them you couldn't actually describe with words."
Charli looked down at her watch and got up.
"I've got a class in five minutes and so do you. I assume that you do know where Miss Dalton's class meets." Charli said.
Luke nodded as he walked into his office.
"You do realize that you're going to be late." Charli said.
"One of the nice things about being a professor, you can be late. Besides that I move faster than you can see, remember."
Charli smiled as she opened the door.
"Just try not to get caught, I need the check every week." Charli said.
"About like you need this job?" Luke asked sarcastically.