Helsinki, 12.

Friday.

As Friday dawned bright and sunny, for some odd reason I was not the least bit relaxed or prepared for the evening. Despite getting myself, Kielo and weapons ready, and taking that long, relaxing bath, I was a bundle of nerves as the first rays of the sun crept curiously into my living-room from between curtains I hadn’t closed properly.

I was still dressed in my bathrobe, too distracted by Alby’s news to change into anything else. My hair was pointing straight up after I’d dragged my fingers through it again and again during the night. No sleep for me, oh no. Couldn’t relax after that. I had tried to reach either Iggy or Frank by phone for half the night, but again with no luck whatsoever. It was understandable for the former, quite worrying for the latter. Just what I needed, more things to worry about.

My nerves in this state, I didn’t know how I’d get through the day. Not to mention the night. I needed to calm down or I’d do something stupid when the time came to meet Dorian. To meet Iggy. He knew I was coming. He knew my strengths and weaknesses. If he was going to give us trouble, he knew exactly how he’d manage that.

I was a liability to Kielo.

Could I protect her from Iggy? Physically, yes. I was always the stronger one, and despite him being a true vampire, I had the years to back me up. Mentally? I really didn’t know. Could I kill him and live with myself? Did I still care for him? Too many questions, too little time. I did know that I couldn’t let her go on her own. That would be the end of her.

Come midday I was no calmer or more prepared. I was barely aware of the time passing by. Only when Buttercup got tired of subtly suggesting that she was hungry did I get off my ass and do something.

I had to go with Kielo. I would have to confront Iggy and what he had become. I might have to kill him. All that was certain. No amount of worrying would change those facts, or make them go away. So I might as well find my spine again, go out there with Kielo and do my damned best.

The more romantic side of me had already imagined how I would manage to talk Iggy out of whatever he was planning for Kielo. Hell, it was even a plausible option, if he still cared for me at all. If he was even partly as reasonable as he had been. But people change, as Kielo had pointed out, and power corrupts. The romantic side of me would have to hold its horses and let the logical side try and work things out first.

All this I knew, and kept repeating unto myself until it forced me to calm down some. That was all I needed. Getting through tonight didn’t require knowing now what would happen: it required that I went in there as calm as possible, as ready for anything as I could be.

I didn’t like the fact that I hadn’t gotten any sleep last night, but back in the days I had survived against vampires with far less rest, food and preparation, so unless I had gone completely soft I shouldn’t have any problems.

Shouldn’t. But in the days, I hadn’t had to fight against someone I had used to love.

Right, right. Where was that spine I was going to find?

With nothing else to really do than wait and think, I managed not to go absolutely stir crazy before Kielo got off work and came over after a quick detour to her apartment. I had even managed to comb my hair and get some clothes on, along with a calm façade so I wouldn’t worry her. Any more than she was already worrying, that is. I could tell her lower lip was so red because she had been chewing it all day long, and not because of her lipstick. Still, she was putting on a brave face.

“I’m so scared… but kind of excited as well. Is that stupid?” she asked as soon as she had parked her bottom on the sofa. Her presence, no matter how nervous she was, was soothing me like nothing else. We would get through this.

“I think it’s pretty normal.”

“It’s probably because, after tonight, it’ll be all over, right?”

“Yes, Kielo. You’ll be rid of all the pesky vampires. Well, except for a half-vampire who’d like to remain in your life, if you so wish.” I sat down and scooted closer to her as she laughed and leaned over.

“Oh, don’t even think you’re getting away from me that easy. I own your ass.”

“You do?” I leaned over as well, and our lips met. Quite fiercely.

“Should we be doing this?” Kielo asked after a few minutes, her blouse more than half off, mine already on the floor.

“Sweetheart, there’s nothing else we should be doing.” I muttered and all but jumped on her. Kielo screamed with laughter and leaned back on the sofa.

Don’t give me that look. If you can think of a better way to relax, I would like to hear it. Just so I can ignore it, as this is, in my book, the best way.

“Have to admit, that did the trick…” Kielo muttered as we were trying to calm our racing hearts some time later. “But now I want a cigarette.”

“Go smoke on the balcony…” I muttered, as languid as she was.

“As soon as I can get up!”

It took a while, mostly because I was so reluctant to let her go, but eventually she made it to the balcony and closed the door to keep the smoke out. I took the opportunity to make one last phone call. Not to reach Iggy, for it was obvious where he was. Or rather, would be. And not to Frank, for there was nothing my old friend could do anymore.

Alby answered after a few rings, sounding slightly out of breath. “Hey. You all right? You sounded a bit odd last night.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. What you told me kinda came like a punch to the face.” I said and could almost hear his ears perk up. Before he could ask more about it, however, I continued. “I just wanted to thank you for the info, and everything else you’ve done for me.”

Alby laughed nervously. “Why is this sounding like a goodbye? You’re not going to do something stupid, are you?”

“No. Just in case, you know.”

“Ah, gotcha. Well, just in case, then, you’re welcome. But if you’re really grateful, you’d let me see your tits.”

“Fat chance.”

“Ouch.”

I wouldn’t give him a laugh, but I think he could hear the smile from my face. “Thanks for being my friend, Alby. Much appreciated.”

“Ditto. We can show our mutual appreciation over beer some day? Seeing as how this is ‘just in case’.”

“It’s a date.” With that, we hung up.

I felt ready.

The hours were slow in turning, but once we started to get ready, time seemed to fly by. Kielo’s laughter was strained as she joked about putting on the war-paint while doing her make-up, and my hands were shaking a little as I fought with my new pants and their many zippers and buckles. They did look nice, but I’d never get them on or off in a hurry.

We’d called for the taxi well in advance, and it was honking its horn outside exactly in time. Buttercup was slightly surprised about the big hug I gave her; normally I just give her a pat on the head before going out, if I can find her. Kielo fussed over the grey cat hairs on my new shirt, but had no time to clean it as the taxi’s horn called for us again. There was no good place to really park outside, so we had to hurry.

The taxi dropped us off just outside Raison D’être at five minutes past half past ten. It was still fairly early, but there was already a long line to the club’s door. The crowd seemed a bit older than those we’d seen in the line for the goth club. Made sense, if this place was so high class and hard to get in to.

“Popular as ever,” Kielo said and gave me a nervous grin as her hand sought mine out. Holding each other tight we walked past the line, she leading the way and me listening to the jealous muttering as we just walked in. The doorman greeted Kielo like a friend and didn’t give me another look.

Once inside, I could hear music gliding down a long staircase which must have lead to the first floor. Our destination. Less than 25 minutes left until the big moment.

Kielo gave our jackets to one of the doormen and exchanged a few words with all three who were working there, laughing with them. I felt a little left out but put the moment on my own to good use, and checked our surroundings in case we’d have to leave here in a hurry.

The hall itself wasn’t that large, and most of it was taken over by the cloakroom. Between that and the staircase was an opening which must have led to the small bar Kielo had mentioned. Other than that and the front door there were no other doors, nowhere to hide in.

A wavy mirror, about a foot high, decorated the wall beside the staircase all the way up. It was only broken here and there by posters that advertised the bands that would be playing live at the club. Tonight the entertainment would be provided by The Bard. The name didn’t ring any bells, but the music I could hear sounded familiar.

Kielo was beside me then, her arm linked with mine. We gave each other a small smile and started to ascend the stairs towards our destinies. Never before has a staircase so long felt so short.

The view from the top of the stairs frankly took my breath away as I could have sworn I had stumbled back in time some fifty years. I barely heard Kielo’s words as she left me to go and get something to drink for the both of us, so mesmerized I was by the atmosphere of the place.

The large room reminded me more of a theatre than a bar. The building was old, so maybe at one time that’s what it had been. There actually were a few small theatre boxes on the walls, opening towards the other end of the room, where a small stage stood in front of gorgeous, heavy dark red curtains. I could only imagine what was behind them.

On one end of the stage was a small band, playing an old tune I recognized immediately. A woman was singing into an old-fashioned microphone in the middle of the stage, she the only thing properly lit in the whole room. She was dressed in a style I hadn’t seen in a few decades. Her red hair shone in the warm light, and her voice was strong but tender, like thick honey as the lyrics fell from between her smiling lips.

“Fill my heart with song, let me sing for evermore

“You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.

“In other words, please be true

“In other words, I love you.”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Kielo suddenly whispered into my ear, and I started, feeling a little embarrassed for actually forgetting where we were and what was awaiting us. So I just nodded as she passed my drink to me.

We sought out a small, empty table in the dimly lit room and sat down as the band played on. As I turned away from the singer and my eyes got used to the darkness I could see how full the room actually was. Almost all tables were occupied, most people were sitting quietly, watching and listening to the show. The tables were mostly as small as ours, with candles in the middle to give illumination. A few bigger ones stood near the walls, hosting larger parties of patrons.

The high walls were richly decorated with columns and gilded floral shapes which glittered here and there where light reached them. I felt regret at never having come here before in all the years I had lived in Helsinki.

“In other words… in other words…

“I love you.”

“Very beautiful.” I muttered, not quite sure whether I meant the place, the song, the singer or Kielo. Most likely all of them. Kielo smiled at me and caught my hand on top of the table again. She looked absolutely stunning in her light blue shirt, decorated with a few sequins, and the short denim skirt she’d bought to go with the shirt. It didn’t really cover any of her shimmering legs, which most likely was intentional.

The song ended and the audience rewarded the singer with enthusiastic applause. Only during the short quiet moment before the band started on the next song could I hear the more contemporary music coming from the floor above. And only when the singer’s voice no longer attracted my attention did I grow nervous again.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be all right.” Kielo said to me, still holding my hand. Her words made me laugh.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to tell you that?”

“You can remind me in about fifteen minutes.” She said and glanced at her watch, smile disappearing from her slightly glittering lips. I nodded with no small amount of dread and let my eyes roam around the room again. Only this time I didn’t admire the play of candlelight on the walls, the glitter of gilding or the cascading shadows of the curtain behind the stage. No, this time I let my senses roam as well, and searched out anything that wasn’t human.

To my relief the large room seemed free of vampires, but there were definitely some of them in the area. That’s when I remembered Kielo talking about the private rooms. I squeezed her fingers a little to draw her attention from the singer to me.

“The private rooms, where are they?” I asked, eyeing the walls. There were no obvious doors anywhere.

“Oh, yeah.” Kielo sat up a little straighter and craned her neck. “Over there, on both sides of the stage.” She pointed quickly towards both ends, and I could make out dark hallways, partly hidden by the curtains. “Five of them on each side. Four small ones and a big one with a door leading to the back of the building.”

“So they could come or go through there as well.” I muttered mostly to myself, not liking the idea. But a backdoor meant that we could attempt escape through there as well if there was no other way out of the situation.

“The back doors aren’t guarded, and they lead to the inner yard between the buildings. You can get out of there through gates, but those are locked. One of them opens if you buzz the doormen.”

I nodded, not knowing whether this was good or not. It would certainly slow us down if we needed to escape, but it would also make entering and exiting harder for the vampires.

Perhaps too nervous to talk, we fell quiet after that, listening to the music. The quiet, dreamy atmosphere of the place would have been just the thing to relax in, if one wasn’t walking into the dragon’s den. As we were, I couldn’t properly enjoy either the music or the beautiful settings. Only thing that mattered was the warm hand on mine, squeezing every now and then, giving comfort and expressing anxiety.

According to Kielo’s watch it was two past eleven when we were approached by a man I immediately recognized as a vampire. He stopped a few meters from our table, and his eyes roamed over the both of us before he stepped closer and gave us a small bow.

“Dorian would like to meet you now, ladies.”

Kielo and I looked at each other, squeezing each other’s hands for courage as we stood up and followed him towards the partly hidden door on the right side of the stage. On it, the singer was cooing about paper moons and make-believe. As far as I could tell, no one was paying any attention to us as we slipped into the short, dark corridor. Out of sight, out of reach.

“It’ll be all right.” I reminded Kielo, and she gave me a smile. We would be all right.

There were two doors on each side of the corridor, and one at the end of it. The vampire led us to the last one, and Kielo quickly whispered to me that it was the biggest one. The one with the door to the backyard. I could feel no other vampires on the premises except for the ones on the other side of that door.

This was it, I thought as the vampire gave a sharp knock to the door before opening it. He stepped aside and motioned for us to step into the warm, dimly lit room. The door closed and locked behind us, making me jump a little. To my surprise, Kielo, beside me, didn’t feel nervous at all. On the contrary, she seemed calmer than I was. Good poker face, that girl. My girl.

There was a wooden, oval table in the middle of the room, and comfortable white chairs surrounding it. They had been pushed against the dark red walls now, though, and there were three vampires standing next to the table, eyeing us. I recognized all of them from the night at the goth club. One of them was the one I’d maced in the face.

The largest chair, opposite us across the table, was turned so that its back was to us, and we couldn’t see who was in it. I had thought that I wouldn’t need to see: I should still be able to recognize Iggy, even after all these years. But the vibes I was getting from that direction, they weren’t what I had been expecting. Familiar, but…

There was a woman, a human, standing on the right side of the chair, and she demanded my attention before I could figure out what was bothering me about the chair. She was familiar as well.

“You?” I muttered quietly as I recognized the woman who had shoved the crucifix into my face a while ago, and who I had seen again on Tuesday. She was staring right at me, smirking. I could feel the pieces of the puzzle click in my head, and suddenly her actions became clear. She was with the vampire. With Iggy. He must have sent her to check me out, to confuse me.

“Welcome.” Came an amused voice from the other side of the chair, and a pale hand gave a short wave on its left side. I swallowed and glanced at Kielo, who…

Kielo was smiling, staring at the chair as well. I couldn’t understand why, unless she was pretending that the vampire didn’t scare her. I didn’t get a chance to ask or think further, though, as the chair started to turn around, the one sitting on it coming into view like the bad guy from a spy movie.

The vampires in the room, they smirked and glanced at each other as the chair turned ever so slowly. The woman beside it winked at us. My hand inched closer to my bag containing the weapons I’d brought, but it fell to my side as I finally saw the man sitting in the chair, smiling like a shark.

The face was familiar. But not one from decades ago. Not Iggy.

“…Alby?!”

Alby –for it was him, no one else- spread his hands as wide as his grin, and shrugged. “Surprise.”

“But… you…” I couldn’t get anything coherent out of my mouth, nor could I understand anything as everyone in the room burst into laughter. Everyone but me. Yes, even Kielo. I turned to her, my eyes begging for an explanation. She leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek, and when Alby reached out a hand towards her, she left me and walked to stand next to his chair. She and the woman gave each other an affectionate look over the back of the chair.

My mouth was hanging open, and there was nothing I could do to close it. My brain was busy trying to comprehend, to come up with answers, but it was as lost as the rest of me.

“I guess an explanation is in order. Please, sit.” Alby said, and one of the vampires lifted one of the chairs behind me. When I made no move to obey, I was pushed down as Alby –my friend- leaned over and placed his elbows on the table, his pale chin on his laced fingers. “First… I think you’ve met my friends already. Kielo…” he nudged his head towards her –my lover!- “and Paula. My girlfriends.”

“What?!” I would have shot up from the chair but the vampire next to me grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back down. “Kielo, what’s going on?” I pleaded with her, begged with my eyes, still not understanding. Was this some kind of a joke?

She, the one I’d fallen so hard for, who I had held in my arms and protected, kissed and made love to… she just smiled at me, tilting her head so that her lovely blond curls bounced a little.

“I can see that she played her part well. Good job, babe.” Alby said, and Kielo leaned over the back of the chair to kiss his neck. A small wail of pain escaped my lips, I couldn’t stop it. He grinned and locked his eyes to mine. “I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll just get it over and done with. The thing is, S, there are people who want you dead.”

He stopped to allow me to answer, to ask the obvious questions, but my confusion and growing anger still prevented me from speaking. Alby shrugged and continued.

“To be more precise, there are vampires who want you dead. I know you’ve retired, but as we can all see…” now he leaned back again and spread his hands, “it is obvious that it doesn’t take much to get you to come out of retirement. You’re tiny and cute, but you’re also almost 200 years old, and you’ve killed more than your fair share of vampires. So, my friends, they have good cause to be worried that someone like you would try to meddle with their plans. That being the case, they contacted me, your friend as well, and offered me a lot of money to kill you. And we are talking six. Figure. Numbers here, babe. Big money. But, any sane person wouldn’t even consider killing their friend for petty change.”

“Friend! Exactly!” I finally found my voice and words to come with it. “What the hell is going on here?”

“That I am trying to explain to you, in case you haven’t been paying attention. Come on, I know Kielo has the best tits in town, but this is your life we’re talking about. So try to keep up.” Alby snapped his fingers while Kielo and Paula laughed behind him.

“What about me, then?” Paula asked.

“You’ve got the best ass in town, babe.” Alby said and turned his attention back to me. “You’re right, though. It takes more than money to make one turn on one’s friends. The vampires knew this, and added some… fringe benefits to the pay. Suffice to say, it was enough to turn even my head.”

“But… if you wanted me dead, why all this? What the hell for? Do you enjoy torturing me?!” I demanded to know, angry as all hell. Still, the anger was barely enough to keep the tears from my eyes as I watched the three before me.

“Torture? Oh no.” Alby spread his hands and let out a laugh, as if it was obvious. “Because you’re my friend. That’s why.”

There were no words to express what I was feeling then, but I didn’t need them as Alby continued.

“I do care for you. And as your friend I have to say that you’ve spent the last decade or so doing nothing. You’ve let yourself go, and haven’t really lived. I mean, you had to come to me to find out what’s going on with the vampires these days. It made it easy for me to manipulate you, though.

“But the point was that I wanted you to live a little before you died. As a last favour to a friend.” He pointed to his left, where Paula stood, smiling as she watched my expression. “Paula won, and got to try and seduce you first. But she fucked it up, didn’t you?”

The brunette shrugged one shoulder. “I panicked. It was stupid.”

“But that was all right, considering that Kielo had even a better idea.” Alby now pointed to his right. I turned back to Kielo, who was not meeting my eyes. Her smile seemed to falter a little now that the attention was on her. “And you have to admit, she played her part like a pro. Do I know how to pick ‘em, or do I know how to pick ‘em?”

He clearly waited for me to answer. I just growled at him, making him shrug.

“Fine. Anyway, it was all going really well, with a little help from my friends.” The vampires around us chuckled at that. “But when we thought to bring Iggy into the picture, we almost lost you.”

“Where is he? What have you done to him?” I had completely forgotten about him. Alby just shrugged again.

“Haven’t the faintest idea. Never met him.”

“So it was all lies. Everything was a lie.” I turned back to Kielo now. She wasn’t smiling anymore, but she did meet my eyes this time.

“More or less.” Alby said. “But you gotta admit… you enjoyed every minute of it.”

“Not the concussion.” I muttered crankily.

“Too bad. You’re in for a lot more pain before we’re done.”

I ignored him, still staring at Kielo, begging for her to smile, to say it wasn’t true, to tell me it hadn’t all been a lie. That she hadn’t taken my trust and abused it, lied to me about everything.

She just turned her eyes away.

Alby had noticed, and sighed. “You really fell for her, didn’t you?”

“Which one of them are you asking?” Paula asked, her arms crossed over her chest. He ignored her and got up, to walk past Kielo and to stand before me. I was forced to look up, from his belt to his face.

“I really meant it over the phone, you know. I do appreciate having you as a friend, S. Too bad it has to end like this.” He leaned over to give me a kiss on the forehead before motioning to one of the vampires.

”It’s nothing personal, love. Just business.”

I could feel the excitement of the vampires as they all crept closer, leaving the humans to the back of the room and me to wonder who were the real monsters here.

This time, as there was a splitting pain at the back of my head, I welcomed the following darkness, knowing I would never awaken from it.

-

The Bard is the property of Laura Bushinski, used with exclusive permission.

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