It took Luke a few days, but even real estate deals can be sped up with the right amount of incentive in the form of a fat stack of euros. When Luke finished wheeling and dealing, he bought the house next to the first of the vampire nests and rented one on the opposite side of the street a block down on the corner with its perfectly placed windows.
The house next to the nests was too close for them to stay in, but it made a perfect place to set up several unobtrusive cameras covering the street and the park across from the nests, as well as the doors of the nearest couple of vampire houses. They set up cameras in the rental as well, ensuring they had maximum coverage no matter the circumstance.
“I wish Jamaal was here,” Pablo said for about the dozenth time.
“You’re doing a good job, Pablo. You’re plenty handy,” Sam reassured him.
Pablo sighed. “I know, but he’d have it done by now and it would be way better.”
Luke, sitting on the floor in a pile of particle board panels and lock bolts, flexed his hand. “I’ll trade you. I’ll set up the security system and you put together the IKEA furniture.” He returned to his project, tightening the connectors until he slipped and barked his knuckles. “Ugh. I fucking hate Allen wrenches.”
“Wow, you guys are awfully whiny today.” Sam kicked back in a comfy chair bought from a local store, a glass of wine in her hand, her eyes fixed out the window at the vampire nests.
Luke and Pablo made eye contact, shaking their heads at each other.
“How are the kids getting along?” Pablo asked, changing the subject.
Sam, who’d just finished talking with Delilah a few minutes previous, took a sip of wine. “Good. Delilah says Simone is coming along nicely. She’s still uncomfortable with the shotgun, but she’s doing well with it.”
“How’s Simone doing? She was feeling pretty down.” Luke grabbed another shelf to attach.
“Delilah says she’s doing alright. Still having some bouts of deep sadness, but seems happy to be part of something even if it’s not her pack. Oh. Dee said the caretaker dropped off the package Maggie shipped to him.”
“Good. Although I’m not sure who can use the rapier. It’s not exactly an ideal weapon for fighting in houses, but at least it’s got some silver in the alloy. The dagger will be more useful.”
“Do you think the vampire shells will work on wolves?” Sam asked.
Luke thought about it for a moment. “Should work fine on them as long as they’re in human form. Also probably in regular wolf form as well. I’m just concerned it won’t penetrate deep enough on a hulked-out wolf in biped mode. That looks like a lot of flesh to go through. It’ll piss them off and hurt like hell, but we won’t know its effectiveness until we can give it a run, and that’s a dangerous prospect if it doesn’t even give us much stopping power. Also, I’m concerned about popping off guns in town. I think French cops are going to be a bit more uptight about gun fire than Portland’s donut chasers.”
“OK. I think I got it.” Pablo stood up and turned on the monitor, an image of the street below and the vampire houses popping on the screen. “And we have snooping power!”
“Now I’ll have to set up the unit down the street,” Luke said.
“Don’t want me to do it?” Pablo asked.
“Probably best not to put strange werewolf smells next door to their nests,” Luke replied.
Pablo looked offended. “Dude. I’m house trained. I shower regularly. I’m not going to pee on their mailbox to mark my territory.”
Sam laughed. “He’s probably right though, Pablo.”
Crossing his arms, Pablo stuck his tongue out. “Fine. When we moving the kids up?”
Sam chuckled. “If you call Delilah a kid to her face, she’ll thump you. Simone’ll probably help her. On second thought, do it. I could use a good laugh.”
Luke reached for a shelf and set it into place. “Not until we have the place set up. We need more beds, but I’ll probably have them make the move in a couple days, unless things change from Pieter.”
“They still stalling him?” Pablo asked.
Luke nodded. “I think they’re getting the pieces in place and aren’t ready.”
“At least they’re giving Pieter solid proof he’s alive,” Sam said.
Luke grabbed another bolt. “Yeah. At least we’re getting that. I hate to leave Pieter’s father in captivity, but as long as he’s alive, this gives us time to get ready.”
With their furniture assembled and in place, Luke made the call for Delilah and Simone to move bases. Using the cloudy, rainy day, they slid into the apartment with their hoods up to help hide Simone from anyone watching who might recognize the young woman.
Once they got settled, Luke and Sam went to fetch takeout while Pablo stayed behind to keep an eye on their monitors.
It was good to see Delilah again. Not having her with him had left an empty spot Luke was used to her filling. They’d been a team for a while now, relying on each other to protect each other’s backs, and while many other people had moved through their teams or worked alongside them, she filled out the quartet that had been his constant for months.
After nearly a week together with no one else around, Delilah and Simone had grown much closer. The budding friendship with Delilah seemed to be working wonders on the woman who had been so nervous and diffident. He could tell she was still uncomfortable around him, but she wasn’t as obviously displaying subservience markers in his presence. He’d hoped time with just Delilah, who was only a few years older than Simone, would help her settle in with the team and learn that their little group wasn’t the pack she’d come from. When he had a moment, he’d check in with Delilah about Simone’s development.
What he wasn’t expecting was for the moment to arrive so soon. After their dinner, Delilah pulled him aside, asking to speak with him alone. They grabbed Delilah’s jian and tucked it into Luke’s backpack with his gladius and rudis.
“We’ll be back in a bit; we’re going down to the wine bar to talk.” Luke waved, holding the door open for Delilah.
They walked to the little bar he and Sam had gone to a couple times while Pablo had been on watch. It was nearly empty on the weeknight, so Luke requested a corner table away from the few other patrons. Once they got settled and Luke paid attention to Delilah, he noticed her nervousness as she fidgeted, looking near him but not at him. Luke ordered a bottle of Weinbach Riesling for them to share.
“So what’s got you so anxious, Delilah?” Luke asked by way of an opener. “Something about Simone?”
“Simone? No, she’s wonderf— No, it’s nothing to do with her.” Delilah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, straightening up in her chair. Once she felt ready, she opened her eyes and brought her gaze level with Luke’s. “It’s about my father.”
She reached inside her jacket and pulled out an envelope, holding it for a moment before setting it on the table and sliding it toward Luke. On it, Delilah’s name was scrawled in a bold and slightly messy script. He set his hand on the edge closest to him, waiting for Delilah to release her end.
Delilah licked her lips nervously, looking Luke in the eyes. “When I visited my granny this summer, she gave me this letter from my father. He sent it to her a few months before he was killed with instructions to give it to me when I turned thirty.”
“I didn’t think you were quite thirty yet,” Luke interrupted.
“In a few weeks, but granny gave it to me since I was there, and it’s not as easy to visit now that I’m no longer living on the east coast.” Delilah lifted her hand off the letter and sat back, picking her glass up for a sip.
Luke didn’t pick it up, leaving his hand on it. “I don’t need to read your private letter. You can give me the important parts.”
“I know. But I want you to, maybe need you to.” She took another drink, watching his face, her eyebrows furrowed lightly.
Delilah’s mysteriousness piqued his curiosity. He’d long suspected there was a lot more going on with her father than she suspected, only to get confirmation of it from Cassius’s lips directly that Delilah’s single dad had been a vampire hunter. He’d put the information away until he could find the right moment to tell Delilah, but it had receded to the back of his mind after the chaos of the battle to take out Cassius. Luke picked up the envelope, opened it, and withdrew the letter.
My dearest Delilah,
How does one start a letter like this, my daughter? It’s important you know the truth about me and my works from my own hand. I suspect I am not long for this world. I have crossed dangerous powers and believe I’ve been marked for death.
I came to New York City not to seek the American dream as so many other immigrants do, but to hunt down the ancient enemy of humanity, the vampire. I assure you I am of sound mind and possess all my faculties. The creatures who drink blood are indeed real, although the tales told in popular entertainment get most of the details wrong. They are real, and they are profoundly evil.
I have dedicated my life to their eradication, as did my father before me and his before him, in service to the most ancient and noble Òsóòsi, the wise hunter. This may sound farfetched to you, but it is all truth. When I arrived on the shores of America, I was pursuing a vampire nest that had fled Nigeria as I was hunting them down. When I arrived, I took a job as a custodian at a university. It allowed me the time to continue my hunt. What I hadn’t counted on was meeting and falling in love with your mother.
I had hoped to shield you from this lifestyle, allowing you to seek your own destiny. When I first held you after you were born, I could not allow such a precious child to be brought into this dark task. If the line ended with me, Òsóòsi would find a new hunter to take my place as he did when our ancestor became Òsóòsi’s chosen.
With this letter, I have included the diaries of my life as a servant of Òsóòsi. The oldest I have translated from Yoruba to English for you. Making my story available for you has been the most important work of the last few months. I want you to know me, and if my enemies succeed, I want you to know why I died. Even if my life is taken by one of these monsters, my life will have been dedicated to saving those who can’t defend themselves from these soulless creatures.
I have sent this letter, my diaries, and a few other personal effects to your mother’s mother. She doesn’t know about my life nor what is contained within, but she has promised to pass them to you when you reach your thirtieth birthday.
Being your father has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life. You have far exceeded any hopes and expectations I had for you. Know that I’m so proud of the woman you have become.
With my eternal love,
Bamidele Oyelakin
Luke folded the letter and returned it to its envelope, giving it back to Delilah. “That is a beautiful letter.”
Delilah nodded. “I read all the diaries after my granny gave them to me. My mom knew about his hunting. They never told me or let on at all.”
“Do you feel betrayed?” Luke asked.
Sipping her wine, she thought about this question. “At first, but I’ve seen too much, done too much to hold that feeling. He didn’t want this life for me, and I can see why. But…” She stopped.
Luke let the silence hang until his curiosity got the better of him. “But?”
“But he left instructions on how to seek out Òsóòsi should I wish to take up his mantle as a hunter.”
“You’re already a hunter,” Luke said.
Delilah nodded, then shrugged. They paused while the server stopped by their table to refill their glasses from the bottle sitting in a chiller on their table.
When she returned to the bar, Luke leaned across the table toward Delilah. “Are their benefits?”
Delilah nodded. “Speed, strength, endurance, and certain increases in clarity. I think I already inherited some of those from my father…”
“And going through it would make it even more intense? I’ve always thought you were merely an exceptional human. You were such a good fighter. So fast and strong. But you can feel vampires, although not as well as me, and you’re immune to glamour. Not all humans can be glamoured. The truly strong of will can overcome most vampire’s attempts to glamour them. Now I know part of where your exceptionalness comes from, besides your amazing father.”
“Thank you. My mother was pretty talented in her own right. She was a PhD.” She sighed sadly. “I’ve been thinking about my dad’s diaries since I read them this summer, debating about what’s contained in them. Whether I wanted to keep hunting. It wasn’t until I returned home to Portland—and it’s my home now—that I realized, for better or worse, I am a hunter. You and Sam and Pablo and little Gwennie are my family now. I know it’s only been a year since we met, but we’ve all become so close. I think my dad would have loved you all.”
Luke smiled at Delilah. “I feel the same. I missed not having you around when we left you with Simone.” He sighed. “Are you thinking of going through with it? Becoming an official hunter of Òsóòsi?”
“I may need to. We may need the extra boost. Even if they send most of the vampires and wolves from the houses north, we’re going to be outnumbered and out muscled, even with Simone.” Delilah looked nervous and unsure, two things the confident woman rarely was.
“What are the downsides? I don’t know very much about the Orishas.” Luke picked up his glass and swirled it before taking a sniff and a drink.
Delilah shrugged. “As far as I can tell from my father’s diaries, nothing. I mean, except for the violence of being a hunter and potentially getting murdered by a vampire.”
“What about your religious convictions?” Luke had never asked her what she believed, assuming like most modern people in the US she was probably Christian, at least nominally. It had always been safest to not ask when needing to blend in during times less tolerant of pagans.
“I guess I’m agnostic. Mom was raised a Baptist. Granny still attends church regularly. But mom and dad raised me to make my own choices. I guess ‘I don’t know’ was the place I ended up, but now I’ve seen too much shit. Stuff I can’t explain. You—evidence of the power you were granted by a god. It’s softened the edges of my thinking on the subject.”
“Are you willing to dedicate your life to a deity you’re not really familiar with, that you weren’t raised with?” Luke asked. At the thought of a deal with a god, his shoulders tensed slightly as his chest tightened a bit from the added anxiety.
Delilah shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t tell how much worship is required or if any is at all. From what my dad said in his diaries, his task was to seek justice for the vampire slain and to hunt and eliminate them to spare future people from feeling the injustice of a death at the hand of an abomination to life.”
Luke nodded, thinking. “OK. I guess you have to weigh your knowledge about your father and his desire to keep you out of the life and the information telling you how to get into the life. It doesn’t sound like he’s trying to soft sell it, but you’d know better.”
“I don’t think he would. He was always very open with me, unless I was too young to know about something,” Delilah shook her head. “I just don’t know what I should do.” Wrinkles formed over her forehead as she stared at Luke, seeking guidance.
Luke reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “It’s a big decision. If you decide to do it, what all do you need? Do you need a priest of Òsóòsi? Or will any follower of the Orishas work?”
“I think I have everything already. He left me all the things I’d need, and as a powerful hunter with your connections, you’d be able to perform the ceremony for me.” She looked pensive, putting her confusion and indecisiveness on the table for Luke to help and guide her through the thorny path available to her.
“That’s very ecumenical. Well, I’ll support you no matter what, and if you decide to go through with it, I’ll perform the ceremony for you.” He smiled, trying to relay his support for his friend as best as he could.
Delilah nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Luke. Should I talk to the others about it? I mean, it affects us all.”
“You can if you want to, but it has to be your decision. They won’t try to talk you into or out of it. They’re your friends and love you; they’ll support your decision. None of us are Christians, so you won’t be offending anyone’s sensibilities with a pagan deity. This is one hundred percent up to you, and we’ll be here to support it either way. Don’t make a decision because you think it’ll help us out. Make this decision because it’s right for you.” He leaned forward, holding her gaze to emphasize what he’d just said.
Delilah nodded, looking thoughtful. She sat back in her chair and picked up her wine glass. Luke relaxed some and pulled his phone from his pocket, checking to see if he had any messages from Pablo or Sam while allowing Delilah some space to mull over their conversation. He couldn’t lie, having Delilah tap into the full abilities she’d displayed the very edges of would help them. And protect her.
As the only unaugmented human on the team, she’d always been the most vulnerable to vampires who were vastly faster and stronger. They’d developed their team’s fighting style to allow Delilah to perform to the best of her ability, but gaining the powers of a true hunter would allow them to increase their collective power. He’d never say any of those things to her though. He couldn’t influence her, not after the life he’d led as someone who made the mistake of crossing paths with a god and accepting his mission.
Allowing her the time to think, they quietly finished the last of their wine and walked back to the apartment. Delilah remained silent, holding her hands behind her back as they walked. He checked on her out of the corner of his eye, wondering what was going on behind the pensive expression on her face. Delilah’s news was one more calculation he needed to figure into everything else.