The Vanishing by Karla Nikole

Sixteen

The corpus callosum traverses the longitudinal fissure… here. Haruka holds the model brain upside down, narrowing his eyes as he uses a black marker to designate the critical site. The cerebral mantle is above the corpus callosum. This area. Perhaps these gyri… near this sulcus?

A heavy knock against the open bedroom door breaks his concentration. He looks up and Giovanni is in the doorway. He’s dressed in tailored slacks and a patterned dress shirt, his suit jacket folded over his arm. He glances at Haruka on the floor as he walks toward the bed.

“You stayed up all night again, didn’t you?” Giovanni asks.

Haruka shrugs. “What time is it now?”

“Four thirty in the morning. I have a meeting at eight in Osaka, and then I’ll meet Cellina in Kyoto at three to go over next week’s schedule. I’ll be back here around ten tonight.”

“Thank you, Giovanni.” With his legs folded, Haruka leans his head back against the wall.

“You alright, kiddo?” Giovanni says. From his position on the floor, Haruka can see that Giovanni’s hand is resting atop Nino’s head. His mate nods against the pillow.

“You look better today,” the broad vampire continues, “but your husband looks like shit. He’s staying up all night and not eating—like some old-school fucking vampire. Should I drag a coffin in here for him to sleep in? Is he going to start hanging upside down in the damn closet?”

Nino squirms in bed and grabs his ribs, wheezing in what Haruka understands as painful laughter. Haruka frowns. The more time he spends with Nino’s older brother, the more apparent his dual personality becomes. He is one part charming diplomat and one part embittered antagonist—one half or the other capable of surfacing at any given moment.

“The four contracts you secured are stable,” Giovanni explains. “Good-quality clients—they seem serious about making the changes you recommended and are flexible. Nice work. I have a meeting for a new prospect today. I could get you more leads, but you just want five at a time, right?”

Nino nods again under his brother’s palm. Giovanni steps back from the bed. “Alright. I’ll wrap that up before I go home to see about Father. My blood supply is getting low.” Giovanni turns and walks in long strides toward the bedroom door. He looks over his shoulder just before leaving. “Eat something—and take a damn nap. What good is all this studying going to do if Lajos shows up and you pass out from exhaustion?”

Haruka sets the model brain down in his lap, considering. “Your personality is not unlike a two-headed snake’s.”

Giovanni smirks. “But a king cobra, right? Not one of those wimpy garden snakes. I’ll be back later.”

When he’s gone, Haruka rolls his eyes and lifts the plastic model. Giovanni might be older, but he is out of line. Walking around my house and barking orders… He wonders how he ended up being the youngest vampire among his intimate circle of peers.

Nino rustles against the bed, sluggish and maneuvering to remove the IV drip from his arm. Haruka sets his plastic brain down and stands from the floor with urgency, stepping over the mess of books, papers and markers spread around him.

He moves to Nino’s arm. “Good morning, my love—I will take care of this. Is it finished?” He looks up and pinches the clear plastic bag. No blood. Sora will be back on Sunday as per their usual appointment to draw more blood and create new bags. Each time, Haruka’s body needs the full week to recover.

Falling into his routine, he takes the sterile gauze from the bedside table tray and presses the soft material to Nino’s skin at the insertion site. Meticulous, he pulls the cannula out of his arm, discards it and unhooks the empty IV bag.

“Did you sleep well?” Haruka asks, tossing the bag into the trash. “I tried not to disturb you—”

Feed.

Nino’s groggy voice registers in Haruka’s head. He is grateful that they can communicate this way, but he misses the sound of his healthy, physical voice.

His tasks completed, Haruka shifts toward the end of the bed at Nino’s feet, kneeling there and taking hold of his mate’s ankle. “I will.” He smiles. “How are you feeling?” Haruka lifts his leg and Nino complies, allowing him to bend his knee toward his chest in a slow stretch.

I’m okay.Why aren’t you eating food? You love eating.

“Solidarity. And there is too much to do.” He gently rolls his hip in its socket, deepening the stretch. After a moment, he straightens Nino’s leg, then sets his foot against the mattress. He moves to stretch the opposite leg. “Nino, how long has Giovanni been feeding your father?”

Since right after Mom died… maybe 1915? Or sixteen? I’m still amazed he told you.

Haruka holds Nino’s bent knee toward his chest, then rolls it. Learning that Giovanni is solely responsible for providing their father’s nourishment had been shocking, and it has also answered other long-standing questions in Haruka’s mind.

Losing a mate is detrimental to the surviving member of a bond—their complex biology having grown dependent upon a bespoke source of nourishment. Haruka had wondered how Domenico, a purebred vampire, has survived this long without his mate. Consuming his son’s blood provides the nourishment necessary to survive. It is a controversial choice, so it’s no wonder the family prefers to keep it secret.

It also explains why Giovanni—a renowned and attractive purebred realm leader—has remained unbonded. Mixing another, outside vampire’s biology with his own could cause devastating results for the father in his precarious circumstance.

“Who is Giovanni’s source?” Haruka asks, straightening Nino’s leg.

One of our cousins—my uncle’s daughter. So the family bloodline within G stays consistent. Nobody feeds directly. Father employs a small staff of medical professionals to help draw and bag everyone’s blood. Did he mention that?

“He did. In less detail.”

I don’t think G has fed from another vampire in an intimate way since he was a teenager. I remember there was a time… for a short while, maybe a month? It wasn’t long after Mom died, but G went kind of wild. He wasn’t home much and I barely saw him. Then Father got worse in his sickness and he screamed at G one night. I was little but I remember it was scary as hell—how mad he was. That was the end of that. G has been on the straight and narrow path ever since.

“Will he always be held to this strict circumstance?” Haruka asks. He has never felt sympathetic toward Giovanni, nor has he ever heard the dynamic male complain. Not once. But knowing the entire circumstances, it is overwhelming.

Overseeing a bustling aristocracy alone, constantly addressing the needs and whimsies of other ranked vampires, being responsible for the vitality of his father while unable to feed and satisfy his own inherent needs… and now, Giovanni is also managing his brother’s realm while he recovers.

I don’t know. We don’t talk about any of it. I know, deep down, G resents me for a lot of reasons, so I just leave it alone. Our relationship is much better since I bonded with you though. That’s been nice.

Haruka smiles. “I am pleased that I have brought some relief to this complex situation.” He lifts Nino’s ankle, then kisses the arch of his bare foot. Nino grins, his honeyed skin shifting into a warm, rosy color.

If… if G were allowed to bond and feed…

“He would undoubtedly choose Cellina?” Haruka interrupts. “If she is present, his gaze follows her. His respect and desire for her are obvious.”

To everyone but her. They had an argument forever ago and refuse to call a truce. I can’t imagine him mating with anyone else—especially not another male. I think he would eat him alive.

“Yes, when other males are involved, your brother becomes ‘alpha’ in even the most unnecessary circumstances.” Like sitting at the head of Haruka’s kitchen table, making everyone around him default to Italian or walking around and barking out uncouth, unsolicited opinions. Haruka shakes his head.

Tesoro, will you please feed from me? You need to feed.

Haruka stands from the bed. “How about we shower? I will help you bathe, and perhaps at some point during the process, I will feed.”

Nino’s face brightens. Yeah? Will you pull my aura? While we’re in the shower?

“No,” Haruka admonishes. “I cannot feed deeply from you. The doctor said we should not engage in such rigorous activities until he clears us.”

Groaning, Nino slides down further against the bed and turns his head away. Haruka laughs, standing by his side. “Am I not still capable of pouring very pleasant emotions into you?”

Nino flips his head back, his amber eyes frowning. Tease.

Haruka huffs in a clipped laugh. He leans down to grip Nino’s chin with his fingers. “Open, please.”

Hesitating, Nino shifts his gaze, then opens his mouth. Haruka examines him. Things are much improved from a month ago. He stands straight, gratified. “I am grateful that the speech pathologist is coming next week. I miss hearing your natural voice.”

I know. Can you help me shave again? Lifting my arms for too long is still painful.

“Of course.”

Careful, Nino sits straight, moving himself to the edge of the bed. During Sora’s last visit, she reported that his ribs have fused, but that his body will be tender and achy for a little while longer. Haruka holds his hands out and bends at the knees. Once Nino grips his hands, Haruka slides his palms down Nino’s arms to hold his elbows, firm and just as Sora taught him. Nino adjusts his weight, planting his feet on the floor. He counts, then lifts Nino from the bed to stand.

Nino groans, his face pained. This is such bullshit.

Haruka stands behind, holding his waist and guiding him to the master bathroom. “It is incredible to me that you conjured such a powerful defensive shield. I have never manipulated my energy in that way.”

You taught me how to focus and create that shape. Who knows what he would have done to me if I hadn’t learned that. Nino yawns, trembling as they move. Communicating like this for too long mentally exhausts him. Haruka needs to get him showered and back in bed as soon as possible.

Haru?

“Yes, my love.”

I keep thinking about that place… and Ladislao. He didn’t want to be there. Shouldn’t we try to help? Or at least tell someone?

“From what you’ve told me, this issue sounds like a family matter. In addition, Lajos’s realm has been established for almost two centuries. At this point, many of the vampires within that society were born there. It is not our place to kick a beehive, and you are still healing from our first encounter with him.”

Nino sighs. You’re right…

Sensing his discontent, Haruka adds, “Can we revisit this topic once you are healed?”

Okay, sure… Will you please eat today? G is right, you’ve lost a lot of weight. And when was the last time you slept?

In the bathroom,Haruka unties Nino’s robe, then slides the material over his honeyed shoulders to maneuver it from his body. “I will eat today—”

Promise me. Nino’s beautiful eyes are serious as he stares.

Haruka places a swift kiss on his mouth. “I promise. Enough about me. Let’s finish this so you can return to bed. The doctor said that sleep is the best way for your body to regenerate quickly. I will watch over you and keep you safe.”