The Vanishing by Karla Nikole

Twenty-Five

Nino has never seen this expression on his mate before: pure rage tinted with lethal conviction. The tenderness and vulnerability he’s grown accustomed to have all but disappeared as they walk down the hallway and toward the outdoor garden at the center of the estate.

Nino runs trembling fingers into his hair. “Why the hell is he back?”

“Because despicable creatures like this always come back. Once they acquire one thing, they inevitably want more.”

Haruka opens the outer door to the breezeway, then steps onto the veranda, purpose in his long strides. Nino follows behind, fear almost crippling him. He doesn’t want Haruka to be taken from him, nor does he have any desire to return to that strange and barren place with Ladislao as a lurid roommate.

“Maybe if we stay inside, we’ll be safe—"

“No. He may be capable of pinpointing our locations. This ends now.”

They stand together, watching the still garden cast in a gray summertime haze from the cloud cover. It’s humid and the air is thick and smells of impending rain. Lajos steps out from behind the large maple tree centered in the lawn. Pale and wiry, his movement is graceful, as if floating beside the dark, glassy surface of the koi pond.

Nino flares his protective aura outward, the skill much easier to invoke compared with the first time he’d discovered the ability.

“This power…” Lajos rests his cane against the grass and stands before them, his wrinkled, thin face shifting into a smirk. “The two of you should consider joining in my endeavors. Your combined blood and natures would produce exquisite offspring. I could help arrange it for you? The result would be a wonderful addition to the gene pool of my community.”

Nino stifles a dry heave. Lajos makes having children sound like some scientific experiment—something clinical and unfeeling. Plus, Nino still hasn’t broached this subject with his mate. It feels all wrong: having this callous vampire talk to them about a topic so weighted and unaddressed within their private communication. None of this is his business.

Lajos waits. No one speaks. Nino glances at Haruka and he’s perfectly calm. The rage is dispelled, but his eyes are like daggers as he focuses on the decrepit purebred.

“Consider it.” Lajos lifts his chin at their silence. “You could do much good for the future of our kin. Which brings me to the purpose of my visit. The manuscript you gifted me is excellent. I wonder if we could discuss your findings in more detail? I have learned much about purebred biology while overseeing my realm—the extremes to which we can survive and flourish are remarkable! Perhaps we could exchange stories and work together to reestablish a pure vampire race?”

Exchange stories and work together? He’s fucking insane… When Nino swallows, the sound is loud in his ears. Haruka doesn’t move, but his eyes brighten. Instead of the deep sunset color of their shared genealogy, his mate’s irises burn bright crimson.

Lajos grins as if amused by something. “Need I remind you that you cannotsubjugate me with your impressive essence, young male. My powers are—”

Haruka brings his arm up and flicks his fingers toward Lajos in a swift motion, as if he is ridding them of water. Lajos gasps loudly, shocked as he falls straight back onto the grass, like a tree that’s been chopped down. Haruka steps off the veranda and moves to stand over the old vampire’s body. The silvery mist of Lajos’s power trembles and stirs at his feet, but Haruka holds a palm out over his head, then clenches his fist tight.

Lajos screams, the sound blood-curdling and echoing through the air. He brings his wrinkled palms up to his temples, holding his head as he cries in agony. Haruka speaks out, his deep voice loud and forceful over the old vampire’s screeching.

“I distinctly warned you that if you ever came back here, you would regret it. How dare you return here and converse with us? As if you have not threatened me and caused unforgivable harm to my mate!”

Haruka opens his palm again, then clenches it shut. Lajos twists against the grass, his screams turning into unintelligible whines. Haruka moves his hand down until it hovers over the old vampire’s neck. He pinches the air with his fingers and Lajos writhes and chokes, the wheezing sound from his vocal chords a clear indication that his throat is being shut.

“Haru, stop—that’s enough!” Nino steps down from the hardwood of the veranda and toward his mate.

“Why?” Haruka’s burning red eyes are full of malice as he watches the old vampire. When he speaks, Nino can see that his incisors have sharpened into sleek daggers. “He deserves much more than this for what he’s put us through.” He moves his open palm down further until it hovers over Lajos’s chest. Nino reaches out, taking hold of Haruka’s face with his palms. When his husband’s terrifying gaze meets his own, Nino takes a deep breath.

“Don’t kill him because of me. I—I don’t want to watch someone I love do that in front of me again.”

The anger in Haruka’s expression softens, melting like thawed ice. His glowing eyes shift back to their normal wine color. The dark and frightening creature disappears.

“I don’t want that, alright?” Nino says, stepping into Haruka and embracing him. “Do you hear me?”

“Yes.” Haruka nods against his ear, wrapping his arms around Nino’s waist. “I hear you—I understand.”

Nino closes his eyes, still trembling with unease. The entire scene had thrown him back to when he was six years old and his mother discovered his uncle feeding from him in his room. With no hesitation, no questions asked, she’d ripped his throat out.

“I don’t need another graphic and violent memory in my head,” Nino whispers against his ear. “Can we please try contacting that detective so she can handle this?”

“We can, of course…” Haruka lifts his head from the hug and they both glance down at the twitching old vampire at their feet. His eyes are blank, transfixed on the cloudy sky.

“What did you do to him?” Nino asks.“Is he in a coma?”

“Perhaps. I made some educated guesses with regard to his frontal lobe. I knew I had one chance to get this right. It appears I was successful…” Haruka looks into his eyes. “Have I upset you? I apologize—”

“No, tesoro. I’m fine. You’re perfect. I just want to talk to the detective and tell her what I know. I feel like it’s important and we’ve put it off long enough.”

Haruka sighs, scratching the back of his head as he looks down at Lajos. “I do not wish to attract attention to ourselves with this matter. Maybe we can request some discretion? Somehow…”

“I agree. I’ll ask G if he has any connections to her—I’ll bet he does. What should we do with him in the meantime? Should we call the local police?”

“I doubt they are equipped to manage such a vile creature.” Haruka grabs Nino’s hand, urging him toward the house. “Leave him for now. He is fortunate to be alive.”

* * *

The rain isfrantic and drizzling in every direction by the afternoon, which means Nino still feels damp even though he’s walking underneath an awning.

Displeased with keeping Lajos as a lawn ornament, Asao made Haruka use his aura to move him. His mate refuses to allow the decrepit vampire inside their home—even incapacitated—so they’ve opted for dumping him at the very back of the compound, underneath the large, open enclosure of the kyudojo.

Haruka’s father, Hayato Hirano, was a skilled archer and used the space long ago. Haruka, having failed to adopt an interest in archery (or in any sport or exercise whatsoever), never uses the expansive, professional-quality building.

Nino pulls the heavy door to the kyudojo open, the smell of polished cedar and straw wafting against his face. He kicks his outdoor shoes off before stepping up onto the clean flooring. Nino walks toward the open front of the building, where Haruka is sitting with Lajos. As he approaches, he hears his mate’s voice.

“If you move in any capacity, I will end you.”

Lajos’s voice is a raspy whisper, barely perceptible even in the silent, drizzling atmosphere. “Y-you… would… kill… a fell-fellow purebred?”

“One that captures and violently assaults my mate? That threatens the peace of our existence? Without question.”

Nino walks onto the large, open deck. Lajos is unmoving on the glossy wooden floor, lying in a heap. Haruka sits with his arms folded on a cedar bench that runs along the back wall. Past Lajos’s body, his view overlooks the stretch of green lawn that runs up against the target bank at the opposite end of the range.

When he’s beside his mate, Nino addresses him within his mind. I thought we talked about this. You’re not going to kill him.

Of course, but he doesn’t know that.

Nino shakes his head, sitting down beside him. Have you ever killed anyone before?

I have not.

Then let’s not start.

Lajos groans, and Haruka whips his head forward, eyes flashing bright as he unfolds one arm and flicks his fingers at the old vampire’s head. Lajos screams, the sound echoing across the open space. His body jerks. Then nothing. Silence.

“Haruka—”

“My love, he is fine. He is an ancient creature. It would take much more than this for me to end his sordid life.” He reaches over and grabs Nino’s hand, entwining their fingers. “You have asked that I spare him, so I would never go against your wishes. Never.”

Nino inhales a deep breath and blows it out, easing the tension in his chest.

“I thought I’d caused severe damage to his frontal lobe last night,” Haruka goes on, “but he was able to speak to me just now. I must have missed something fundamental to his speech production… Infuriating.”

“What did you do to him? Why did you need to study so much?”

“It’s complicated,” Haruka sighs. “Typically, I cover my victim in my essence first to subjugate them, then target specific areas of their anatomy that I have studied—bones, muscles, joints, ligaments and so on. It is a two-step process, and as such, there is a lag in my efficiency. Lajos was at an advantage, having witnessed my ability in England last year. As soon as he sensed my aura covering him, he could vanish himself to evade me. I have never come across a vampire with such an ability, so I needed to strategize and surprise him.”

“Hit him hard and fast?”

“Yes,” Haruka says, “but with precision. I have never studied the brain in such detail—just a general, overarching comprehension. Knowing exactly where I needed to strike Lajos was paramount. The brain is infinitely complex, and even with my research, understanding the origin of his power within his mind was difficult. So I made suppositions.”

“You supposed correctly.” Nino smiles. “You’re amazing. My hero.”

Haruka leans in, pressing a soft peck on his lips. “Any goodness in me is a direct reflection of you.”

Nino’s smile broadens, the inevitable warmth rushing to his cheeks. “Charmer…”

“Did you speak with Giovanni?”

“Oh yeah—shit!” Nino blinks. “He got ahold of the detective and she’s planning to catch the next flight out. She also said she’ll have the local police take him into custody, so we don’t have to sit here and watch him until she arrives. I’ll honestly feel better when he’s not underneath our noses like this anymore… and maybe I can finally start working again soon.”

“Should we consider your permanently working from within the estate? There are many methods for conducting business remotely now. You do not need to travel so far, and your clients could come here if needed.”

“I… I don’t know why I would need to do that?”

“To ensure your safety.”

“Well, technically… I was vanished while I was at home, so—”

“That will never happen again. I will do everything in my power to make certain.”

“Haru…” Nino sighs, rubbing his palm against his forehead and wondering if they’ll ever get back to normal, or if this constant state of paranoia is their new standard of living. God, I hope not…

“You hope not, what?” Haruka asks.

Nino’s eyes widen. “You heard that? I—I wasn’t trying to communicate to you directly…”

“I did. I sense that you’re upset about something?”

“No, well… I’m alright…” Nino runs his fingers into the top of his hair, but his mate eyes him suspiciously.