The Black Swan Read online

  “Ho the cave.”

  Oh God, he was already back.

  “Stay out of here, Remember! I’m warning you—it’s not safe!” He recalled the sweetness of his friend’s blood, even better-tasting than the Redcoat’s, and his mouth flooded with saliva. He swallowed and licked his lips, inadvertently cutting his tongue on a canine tooth. His mouth filled with the taste of copper, and both teeth elongated to fangs as his hunger grew.

  No. He’d be damned before he let anyone, least of all himself, harm Remember. He’d walk into the daylight first.

  “I’ve brought you dinner.” Remember walked into the crevasse where Gabe hid and held up a rabbit by its ears. Its hind legs kicked out sluggishly—it was still alive.

  Gabe could hear the blood flowing through the rabbit’s veins. He watched as his friend took his big knife from its sheath at his waist and brought it to the rabbit’s neck.

  Instead of slicing it through, however, he carefully shaved the fur off. “I didn’t think you’d want a mouthful of fur, Gabriel,” he said, and he offered the animal to Gabe.

  Gabe groaned, seized it, and sank his fangs into its throat. The rabbit gave a tiny shriek and its legs kicked out a final time before it went limp.

  The blood wasn’t as tasty as Remember’s—it was more like a wine from a poor vintage—but after the first gulp, he couldn’t stop, and he drank until he’d drained the last drop from the animal’s veins.

  He realized with dismay that it wasn’t enough. “Remember?”

  “Never fear. Did you think I’d leave you to hunger?” His friend pulled another rabbit out of the sack Gabe hadn’t even realized he’d been carrying, shaved its neck, and offered it to him.

  While Gabe drank, Remember put together a small fire, skinned and gutted the first rabbit, and roasted it.

  “Thank you.” Gabe shifted uneasily. He needed something more, but he was uncertain as to what it could be.

  “We always made a good team.”

  “Aye, we do—did. Remember…how is it you know so much about what happened to me?”

  “Mother Morwen, the wise woman who lives in the forest outside Braddockville, used to tell me tales. Ma wasn’t happy about it, but there were so many kids she couldn’t keep track of me.”

  “You said something about a…a transference?”

  Remember sighed. “Yes. There was nothing I could do to stop you from turning, but I can offer you something that will make your existence more…bearable. Do you trust me, Gabriel?”

  “What? You know I do.”

  “I don’t know if you’ll still trust me after—”

  “After what?” Gabe felt as if his skin was on fire, and if he didn’t get some relief soon, he’d seize Remember’s knife and slice off his own skin. “Tell me. Please. I’ll do anything.” He thought for a moment. “Except harm you.”

  “No need for that. You’ve already had some of my blood. Now…I need to have some of yours.”

  “Is that going to turn you?”

  “No, I promise it won’t.”

  “Very well.” Gabe held out his arm. He’d been wounded in battle and knew he could bear the pain.

  “No, not that.” Oddly enough, Remember seemed nervous.

  “I’m not going to turn you,” Gabe insisted.

  “You won’t…” Remember drew in a deep breath. “Bite your lip. Gabriel, bite your lip.”

  Gabe knew he must have looked confused for Remember to repeat himself. He looked deeply into his friend’s eyes, then nodded. His fangs hadn’t retracted, and he sucked his lower lip into his mouth and bit down. Blood began to dribble down his chin. He raised a hand to catch it, but Remember was there before him. Only not with his hand. He sealed his mouth to Gabe’s, licked at the tiny wounds with his own tongue, and swallowed.

  Gabe moaned softly and leaned into the kiss, for it couldn’t be misconstrued as anything other than what it was.

  And it had been so very long…

  Neither Gabe nor Remember had married, although they both had women back home. This…this was better than any kiss his woman had ever given him.

  Finally, Remember pulled back. “There. It’s done.”

  “What’s done?”

  “I’m your black swan.”

  “My what?”

  “Your black swan. We’re tied together for eternity. I’m sorry I tricked you into this, but it was the only way for you to survive another sunrise. I can help you now.”

  “How?

  “I’m able to go out in the sun. I’ll get you back to camp, explain the situation to General Washington, and during the day when you must avoid the sun’s rays, I’ll drive one of the wagons with you safely hidden away in it. And at night we’ll both gather the information the general needs.”

  * * * *

  Chapter 3

  General Washington was surprisingly accepting, but then they were highly valuable. Even before this had happened, Gabe and Remember had been able to obtain information that in the normal course of events should have been impossible to learn.

  The general did insist Gabe camp away from the men, which Gabe did for logic’s sake, and he also made Gabe swear—on Remember’s immortal soul, which puzzled him—to only feed from soldiers who were dying on the battlefield. Gabe had willingly sworn, because he’d learned he could ease their fear and pain—even the Redcoats—and send them on to the Promised Land to seek whatever succor their God offered.

  Eventually, though, the war ended, and Gabe and Remember returned home.

  “I can’t stay, Remember,” Gabe said. He felt torn apart. He’d cared for his woman well enough, but once he’d gone to war, he’d had to find another form of comfort, and that had been in his friend Remember. Things were the way they had once been, although they’d had to exercise caution—what they did could have easily cost them their lives—but it had made the dark days of war bearable. And when Gabe could only exist in the night, there was Remember, staunchly at his side.

  Remember patted his shoulder. “Talk to Mary first.” As always, he seemed so certain of his future.

  Gabe nodded, but he wished he could be as sure. His woman wasn’t particularly superstitious, but she wouldn’t look kindly on having a man who could only come out at night.

  “Well, at least you don’t have this problem.”

  Remember glanced at him. “Gabriel, don’t you realize by now that where you go, I go with you?”

  “But you don’t have to.”

  “Do you really think I don’t?” His smile was rueful. “Go. I’ll come by after I speak with Anne.”

  “Your Anne will probably sweep you off to bed.” He hoped his jealousy wasn’t obvious. He was about to lose Remember’s comfort once again.

  Remember patted Gabe’s shoulder again, another form of solace. “Go,” he urged, and they parted ways.

  Gabe sighed, and headed toward the cabin Remember and the other men of Braddockville had helped him build years ago, before the war. He stepped up onto the porch and crossed it in a single stride, then raised his hand to knock on the door. This had been his home once, but after the years at war and now what he’d become—he didn’t feel it was right just walking in.

  “Who in tarnation is that at the door at this hour?” It was a man’s voice. Mary had no brothers living in Braddockville, and her pa was long dead.

  The door opened, and Mary stood there, wearing a nightdress, her pale hair in a long braid that curled over her shoulder. She was very obviously with child.

  Her eyes widened. “Gabe?”

  “Aye.”

  “I…I’d heard you’d been killed.”

  “Well, whoever told you was wrong.” He looked beyond her at the man who stalked toward him. “Higgins.”

  Higgins had marched off to war with him and Remember and a few other men from their village, but Higgins had been wounded shortly after Gabe’s encounter with the vampyres, and he’d missed the rest of the war.

  So this was what he’d been up to.
/>   Gabe knew he was turning green-eyed about this, not because Mary had found someone else, but because Remember would have his Anne; Gabe would be left with no one.

  “I…you left camp one night and never came back.”

  “I came back. But you were gone.” After that night, Gabe had been unable to return to his company. The English vampyre had been right, for although General Washington found his services useful, he preferred Gabe give a very wide berth to his men.

  Higgins put an arm around Mary’s thin shoulders and pulled her to his side. “You can’t have her, Granger. I’ve married her, and she’s mine now. You were never worthy of her.”

  “Ma? What’s going on?” A little girl, about seven years old, peeked down from the loft. She had Mary’s blond hair, but even in the dark, Gabe could see her gray eyes with the purple streaks, so like his own. Beside her was a boy her own age and with the same coloring.

  “Nothing, little Mary. Fran, take your sister and go back to bed.” Mary twisted her hands. “They’re yours, Gabriel.”

  He didn’t doubt it.

  “Twins?” He knew twins ran in Mary’s family. “Mary and Fran?”

  “Yes, I shared my name with little Mary, and Fran—I thought you would have liked it if I named him after General Marion.”

  Gabe nodded.

  “Please.” Mary’s blue eyes welled up with tears. “Please leave my babies with me.”

  “They’re not babies, Mary.” But he knew that even if he wanted to take them away from their mama, he couldn’t do that. How could such as he raise two young children?

  He reached into his pocket. Higgins gasped and stepped in front of Mary so that he stood between Gabe and her.

  “You’ll not hurt her!”

  “Did you honestly think I would?” Gabe opened his hand to reveal the coins he’d been given when he’d mustered out. “You’re right, Mary. Our children will be much better off with you.” He caught her hand and opened it, ignoring her shiver.

  “You’re so cold, Gabe.”

  He pressed the coins into her palm. “I’ll attempt to send you more whenever I’m able.” Then he turned to Higgins and let his eyes glow red.

  Higgins squeaked and backed away a step.

  “But never doubt they’re my children, and if you harm them in any way, I will learn of it and return to take my revenge on you. Do not doubt it.”

  “Little Mary and Fran are like my own children. I would give my life to protect her and her brother and their ma.”

  “Treat them well, or you very well might.” Gabe turned and walked out of the house that had once been his home.

  Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to see Remember standing on the path that led away from his woman and his children and the man who was claiming them.

  Gabe looked into his friend’s somber eyes. “She’s married.”

  Remember met Gabe’s gaze. “There’s nothing here for us, Gabriel.”

  “You have your woman…”

  “Anne? No. She’s married too.” Remember tilted his head. “I gave her a boy—George. It had to be just before we left. I’d told her if she became with child because of our lovemaking that night, she was to name a boy George or a girl Martha.”

  “You’re wiser than I. Such a notion never even occurred to me. And it should have.” Gabe couldn’t help chuckling. “I gave Mary twins, a little girl and a little boy. When we leave here, we’ll leave something of us behind.” He sobered and stared up at the full moon. “Where shall we go? What shall we do?”

  “It’s best to find a safe place for you to spend the day. Tomorrow I’ll search for a wagon. I’ll create a hidden compartment for you and spend the day making it able to withstand the sunlight, as I did during the War. As for what we’ll do…When we have everything in readiness, we’ll head for Mount Vernon and see if the general has any work for us. There will always be conflicts, my friend. There will always be a use for the likes of us.”

  Gabe opened his mouth to protest that Remember didn’t have to throw his life away to play nursemaid to him, but as always, his friend knew what he was about to say without him saying a word.

  “I’m not throwing aside my life. I’ll always be your friend, which is the most important thing to me. Now,” he said briskly, “do you need to feed?” He held out his wrist, which was crisscrossed with scars. Anyone seeing them would assume he’d attempted to end his life numerous times, but they would have been wrong.

  Shielded by the dark, Gabe rested his palm against Remember’s cheek. “Thank you, my friend, but I’m all right for the time being.” He sighed. In spite of learning his woman was now wed to another man and was heavy with that man’s child, he felt content for the first time since the French vampyre had bit him.

  * * * *

  Chapter 4

  “Gabriel.”

  Gabe pushed back the lid of the box he spent his days in. “What is it, Remember?” He sat up and stretched.

  “The president has sent for us.”

  Until he left office, President Washington was the only man in New York City, the nation’s capital—other than Remember—who knew what Gabe was.

  “What is it about?”

  “Our future, I imagine.” Remember nicked his wrist and held it out for Gabe to drink. “Break your fast—there’s no time to lose.”

  “I can’t keep drinking from you.”

  “Not that same discussion. We’ll talk about it after we see what the president wants.”

  Gabe restricted himself to just a few swallows. Remember was starting to look pale. If only his blood wasn’t so tasty. Of late, Gabe had been giving considerable thought as to what he could do for his friend to repay him. There had to be something…

  “Let’s go. It won’t do to keep the president waiting.” Gabe wrapped himself in his cloak and placed a cocked hat on his head. “Whither away?”

  “He sent word he wishes to see us at Federal Hall.”

  Gabe followed him up the stairs from the cellar of the house they shared. In the general course of things, the cellar would be damp, but Remember had worked to make it snug and dry, a fitting abode for him…for them.

  He never understood why a vampyre would want to sleep in a box lined with soil from the vampyre’s grave, but then there was so much Gabe didn’t understand. Remember had gotten a box for him simply so he wasn’t in danger of being exposed to sunlight.

  Gabe had heard tales of vampyres who terrorized towns and villages, but he’d never been interested in doing that. Was it because the proper transference had never taken place? Or could it have been because of Remember? He had told Gabe the way of it, and Gabe had believed and followed him.

  Not that it mattered. Gabe didn’t want to sleep on dirt—he’d done that plenty of times in the Army. And he certainly didn’t want to frighten innocent people.

  “Gabriel?” Remember touched his arm, rousing him from his reverie. “Do you need more blood?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Gabe licked the wound, sealing it.

  “Then we’d better hurry.”

  “Yes.”

  A carriage waited on the street for them. Gabe climbed in, while Remember told the driver to take them to Wall Street.

  * * * *

  Gabe and Remember stood before the man they’d followed into battle, the man they trusted with their lives. Well, Remember’s life; Gabe’s unlife.

  “You sent for us, sir?”

  The president looked tired. “I’ll be leaving office shortly. I’ve served two terms, and that should be enough for any man. However, I’d like you to continue working for our country, Master Granger, and you also, Master Littlebury.”

  “Of course, sir,” Gabe said.

  The president raised his hand. “Let me finish, please. I’ve been discussing this with Secretary McHenry, and we’ve decided it would be for the best if only future Secretaries of War are made aware of your unique contribution to the welfare of our country.”

  “As you wish, sir.” Gabe didn’t
question the president’s decision, because he never had before and couldn’t see any reason to start now.

  Remember said nothing, but afterward, he told Gabe, “President Washington makes a good point—he’s a decent, honorable man, but we both know there are others who leave much to be desired. They would make you a tool to do their bidding.”

  Gabe nodded. “You’re right. I didn’t want to think of our president ever handing over the reins of government, but yes, he’ll return to Mount Vernon eventually. And as for us…”

  “We’ll keep doing what we’re doing, and all will be well.”

  And Gabe trusted Remember to be telling him true.

  * * * *

  Remember had been right, Gabe mused. There were wars without number, conflicts aplenty, and a need for a man like Remember and a being like him.

  Occasionally they would travel to England or France to see if they could discover what those governments planned for the fledgling country. And when Gabe had some spare time while there, he searched for the Englishman and the Frenchwoman who’d had a hand in making a vampyre of him.

  Remember managed to learn the French vampyre hadn’t survived the French Revolution, and that gave him a mean sense of satisfaction. As for the Englishman, Gabe had had no luck finding him as yet.

  But as his friend reminded him, they had all the time in the world, and they would return.

  Sure enough, another assignment took them back to England once again. American sailors were being impressed into the British Navy, and Gabe and Remember had been tasked with the duty of learning how the British planned to react to the accusations.

  “It’s not good, Gabriel,” Remember said. “Many still don’t see us as a free nation.”

  “No, but we’ve done what we can.” As usual, in their spare moments they’d tried to discover the whereabouts of the damned English vampyre who’d had a hand in Gabe’s turning, but again to no avail. “It’s too late to return home just now.”