Page 59 of Bloody Kingdom

“No, I need to go home.”

I need to see her, to touch her.

For once, I’m starving for something other than blood.

“About fucking time, man.”

The entire estatesmells like her.

She’s permeated every inch of the six thousand square foot house. The sweet scent of her floods me as I enter the front door. The house that used to feel dark and devoid of much life seems brighter than usual even in the middle of the night.

It’s small changes. Lamps are turned on in rooms that usually are permanently dark—untouched. Freshly cut roses sit in a glass vase on the entryway table and somewhere in the house, soft music plays lowly. For the most part, it has nothing to do with the physical changes she’s made, it’s just her presence. Her energy exudes life.

Like a predator tracking its prey, I move silently through the house following her scent. I should have known I’d find her still in Ira’s room, curled up in the chair she’d moved closer to his bed.

He’s awake, but each time I see Ira, the sickness has eroded more and more of him. The only thing keeping him upright is from the pillows she placed behind him. He looks so frail, but at least the pain has been well managed by Quincey.

She sits with her knees drawn to her chest, staring out the open windows at the night sky. I should go in and let her know I’m home, but I find myself wanting to watch her from the shadows a moment longer.

“Did you ever figure it out?” Ira asks her, drawing her attention away from the moon.

She smiles softly but looks confused. “Figure what out, Ira?” She rests her hand comfortingly on his arm.

He coughs, his whole body heaving with the movement. Once settled, he elaborates. “Did you ever figure out why you couldn’t rid your mind of thoughts of Silas? Why no matter how much he pissed you off, you couldn’t stop?”

My body jerks, my muscles seizing at Ira’s words.

Quincey spoke about me to Ira?

Quincey dips her chin, trying to hide the tinge of pink that grows on her cheeks at his question. The smile however that splits her face does not go unnoticed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Ira laughs hoarsely.

Clearing her throat, she nods her head at him. “Yes, I think I figured it out.”

“Are you going to leave a dying man in suspense? Spit it out, dear.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about him because deep down I didn’t want to. While I was busy hating him, I was falling for him. It just took me a little while to realize that under the anger there was another emotion growing. By the time I figured it out, it was already too late. Silas has engraved his name in my heart and there is no erasing it. It’s his now.”

Ira’s face fills with joy, his eyes shining happily behind his crooked glasses. “I knew you’d be good for him. When I first met you, I knew you were what he needed. I knew you’d accept him for what he truly is.”

“You knew after my first night here?” she questions.

“No, dear.” Ira shakes his head in a jerky movement. “I knew for a year before you finally got here.”

A year? Wait.That’s not what he told me when he came to me about acquiring her. He said he’d seen her at St. Sin, and he was drawn to her. He told me that after her shift, he’d followed her, and he’d watched as she took care of a head wound on a street performer. The young kid had done a flip in his dance routine and accidentally landed on his head. Quincey had run back to the bar and performed first aid on him. Was that story a lie?

“I’m not following what you’re saying, Ira,” she says slowly, concern crossing her pretty face.

“There was a team of oncology doctors in Boston I went to see last year. They thought there may be something else they could do for me, so I flew up there to have a consultation with them, but the cancer had spread. They were the ones who told me there was nothing else that could be done, that I was terminal,” Ira explains.

I remember him going to see some doctors, but how did I forget that they were in Boston? The same town Quincey was living in. I should have put two and two together myself.

“Before my appointment, I watched a delirious drunk man, three times your size get in your face, but not once did you flinch. You were tough as nails. Even when he shoved you and you fell, you didn’t back down. You kept your cool. That’s when I knew you’d be able to handle Silas’s anger. Then after my appointment, I didn’t know what to do with myself. What does one do when they learn they’re going to die? I sat in the waiting room for hours, staring at the black screen of a broken television as I contemplated all my life choices up until that point. You must have seen me sitting there because you came over and sat next to me.”

Quincey’s hand covers her mouth. I can smell her salty tears from here even before they fall down her face.

“You asked me if I was okay, I lied and told you I was right as rain. You smiled at me and told me you were going to sit there with me anyway. I didn’t know just how much I didn’t want to be alone in that moment until I wasn’t anymore. You didn’t say anything, you just sat with me for over an hour. That’s when I knew I wanted you to help me die, that if you were there, I wouldn’t be alone.” His frail hand reaches for Quincey’s free one. “I’m sorry you were brought here against your will, dear. It was selfish of me, but I don’t regret it. You’ve been there for me in ways I’ll never be able to repay, and now I can die knowing you’ll be there for Silas too.”

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