The Vampire's Consort (Undead in Brown County) by S.J. Wright Page B

shower.
     
     
    “How long has she been like this?”
    Alex and Nelly were in front of the cabin, standing next to the four-wheel-drive truck he’d just purchased from a dealership in Indianapolis. Nelly had been waiting for him on the porch, eager to speak with him before he saw Sarah.
    “I went to visit some friends of mine in Lexington for a few days. She seemed a little upset when I left, but she insisted I go on my trip. When I got here this morning, I called you before she even woke up. The place was a complete mess. When I saw all the liquor bottles, I was so shocked. Sarah never kept any hard liquor at the Inn. I’m sorry to have bothered you, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
    He nodded.
    “I’m glad you did call. I’ll see what I can do.”
    Alex went in through the front door.
    “Sarah?”
    She didn’t answer. He looked around the kitchen and noticed the sliding glass door leading outside was cracked open. He stepped outside and spotted her out by the shed, smoking a cigarette and staring off at nothing. Her Golden Retriever lay at her feet, staring up at the face of her tormented mistress with soulful brown eyes.
    Alex went down the steps and approached her. She didn’t turn around when he touched her shoulder.
    “Sarah?”
    “Hmm?”
    “Nelly’s worried about you.”
    “I know,” she said.
    He hadn’t expected this. He had known Sarah for a while now and had been through some extraordinary situations with her, but he’d never seen her quite so lost.
    “I want to help you,” he said.
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    She finally turned to him and Alex was struck by the dead look in her eyes, the lack of emotion in her face. Had she been suffering that much? He hated to think of how much losing Michael and girls had affected her, but it couldn’t be denied. Just by looking at her, it was clear that Sarah had lost her joy.
    “There has to be something I can do. Anything you need, Sarah. Really.”
    She took a long drag on her cigarette and turned away again.
    “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.”
    “What do you think Sam would say if she were here? What do you think her reaction would be to see you like this? To hear you say that?”
    He had struck a nerve with that one. She glanced at him quickly from the side. “She has a new life now. She doesn’t need me.”
    “Bullshit! You know that’s complete bullshit, Sarah. Those girls love you. They need you in their lives.”
    “And Michael?”
    Alex sighed.
    “I don’t know. I don’t really care what he thinks right now.”
    She threw her cigarette in the grass and stepped on it with one of her sneakers. She turned to go back to the house, but he reached out and gripped her arm. He put some pressure in that touch, trying to wake her up and make her see what she was doing was wrong.
    “ Cut it out, Alex. That hurts,” she said.
    He leaned towards her.
    “Maybe it’s what you need. You want to kill yourself with booze and cigarettes? It would be a lot faster if I just broke your neck.”
    Sarah cast hurt blue eyes on his face and he loosened his hold a little.
    “There’s no going back. I have no soul without them, Alex.”
    The tears began to come, slowly sliding down her pale cheeks and Alex wrapped an arm around her and walked with her back to the cabin.
    An idea burst to life in his mind and as she put her hand on the rail of the stairs leading up to the back porch, he stopped walking. When she looked at him, to see what was wrong, she saw grim determination fixed in his expression.
    “Maybe there’s something we can do,” he muttered. “But Michael is going to hate me for it. Shit. Everybody except you is going to hate me for it.”
    Sarah gave him a curious glance and walked up the stairs and into the house. Nelly was standing at the kitchen sink, scrubbing the cheese sauce from the pan Sarah had left on the coffee table. When they walked in, she dried her hands on a towel and moved towards Sarah with tears in her