Lisiantha: Home for Christmas (Tales of the Executioners) Read online

“Don’t blame Josh, and don’t judge him harshly. He’s trying to do the best he can.”

  “No, he isn’t! The best he could do is to take care of the problem! Kill them before they kill us!”

  Mére looked shocked. “Lisy, listen to yourself. You want him to murder them in their den? And for what?”

  “To stop them from killing you!” she shouted. “They’re nobody. They’re not important. That-that vampire you killed, he was nothing, but you-”

  “He was nothing to you, but he mattered to someone. He mattered to them. Did you ever think that they feel the same way about us that you feel about them?” Mére shook her head sadly, then pulled Lisiantha into a hug. “If it comes to it, I’ll go, Lisy. I don’t want any more death on my head.”

  Lisiantha clung to her master, her surrogate mother. “There has to be another way!”

  Mére patted her back. “I hope you’re right.”

  **

  Josh wasn’t at the house when they went back, not that Lisiantha was surprised.

  He’s probably meeting with the other coven and signing Mére over. Better one life than all the others.

  But she still didn’t believe the logic.

  She felt no better when she went to bed that morning, or when she rose the next evening. She slumped up to her room and changed, then back down and outside to feed. Just as everyone had avoided Mére, they stayed away from her, too. And that was fine. She didn’t have anything to say to them. Mére had been protecting their coven, doing what they hadn’t had the guts to do, and now they were willing to stand back and let her die for it.

  Cowards.

  But she wasn’t. She spent the evening working on a plan. She didn’t know much about battle, but how hard could it be? Logic said she’d need to surprise them. Maybe if she hid and waited until they were sleeping? If they were in a windowless cellar, that would be easy. Just pop the lids off their boxes and kill them one by one. But if they were more modern, with individual bedrooms strung between sunlit rooms, that could get complicated.

  She was digging through the barn, making a pile of things she could use as weapons, when Mére found her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “What everyone else refuses to,” Lisiantha said, adding a rusty scythe to the heap.

  Mére nudged the pile with her toe. “You can’t wage a one woman war, Lisy. Promise me you won’t.”

  “Like hell. I’m not going to let them kill you!”

  “It isn’t your decision to make. It’s mine. And if my sacrifice can save the rest of you, then so be it. I’ve had a long life, much, much longer than it should have been. I was lucky enough to have you, and Ishirou in it. To be a mother, even if by proxy-”

  Lisinatha held up a hand. “Don’t you do this. Don’t you start saying your goodbyes.”

  Mére smiled through her tears. “Honey, if I don’t do it now, when will I? They’re coming on Christmas Eve, tomorrow, to take me, and I’m going to go. Promise me you won’t do anything.”

  “Mére!”

  “Promise me!”

  Lisiantha threw aside a bent fence post. “Dammit! You expect me to just stand there and watch you be taken away? I can’t do that!”

  “Sweetheart, you have to.” Mére gave her a hug, then moved for the door. “I know you weren’t of my mortal blood, but I’ve always loved you like you were.”

  “Mére…”

  But there was nothing else to say, and her master slipped away into the night. With a cry of fury, Lisiantha kicked the pile, scattering the rusted implements.

  Fine, Mére. If you want to die, die, but I’m not staying to watch.

  **

  Lisiantha avoided everyone, and they avoided her. She didn’t even sleep in the cellar, but instead curled up on the floor in her and Ishirou’s room. Her fledgling had been delighted when she told him they were leaving, and was already packed.

  Lisiantha stared through the gloom at the waiting suitcases. The Guild seemed like the place to go now. She had enough money to rent a room for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, and if she was lucky she could get on as a guard. If not there were shops there. Maybe she could get a job working in one of them.

  Anything is better than this. Better than watching Mére go to her death, than knowing that Josh just let her die…

  She was no less miserable when the sun sank, and she dragged herself up to dress and hunt. Ichirou helped her pack, then hauled the suitcases down to the car. As he stuffed them in the backseat, he commented, “I am going to kind of miss the quiet out here. I mean, it’s boring, but it was also sort of relaxing.”

  “Yeah, it’s something,” she agreed absently, looking over the house a final time. The cheerful Christmas decorations were like a slap in the face that she wanted to rip down. How could they celebrate when one of their own was going to her death? What in the hell was wrong with them?

  “Do you want to tell them goodbye?”

  She pulled out of her revere and shook her head. “Mére and I…we basically said goodbye yesterday. I don’t have anything to say to Josh, even if he was here, and Maegan is at the church bazaar.”

  “We could stop by there on the way out of town? Well, not town, but…”

  “I know what you mean.” Her first instinct was to disappear like she had last time, but she remembered Maegan’s words, “You hurt a lot of people when you left.” Her one-time best friend might be letting Mére go, but she at least deserved a goodbye.

  And maybe a telling off.

  **

  The church was new, built on the outskirts of the nearest town and lit like a football field. The parking lot overflowed with cars, and a sign proclaimed “Welcome to the Christmas Eve Bazaar!”

  “I’d say this it,” Ichirou said as he climbed out.

  “You’re going in?” Lisiantha asked with surprise. “I figured you’d rather just wait in the car.”

  “No. I-I kind of wanted to tell Maegan goodbye, too.”

  Lisiantha cocked a brow. “Really? Since when?”

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She’s nice. And pretty. And…I dunno. I just kind of like her. Geeze. You make this feel like grade school.”

  “I wish it was grade school.”

  It would be happier.

  With that thought, they trooped inside. The church was a sea of tables and colorful craft items. Signs tempted shoppers to check out the wares, and customers browsed, most still dressed in their winter coats.

  Lisiantha found Meagan and Trinity at a table in the back. She waited for their customer to pay for her candle holders, then she took her place.

  Trinity gave her and Ishirou a hard look, then busied herself restocking a basket of Christmas bulbs. Maegan seemed to take as long as she could filing away the money from their customer, but when it had dragged out as long as it could she surrendered. “What are you doing here?”

  Lisiantha bit back the certainty that this had been a mistake. “I just came to say goodbye.”

  Meagan’s face flushed and her eyes bulged. “You’re leaving?”

  “Josh sold Mére out, and she’s willing to go. I can’t stop her, but I can’t watch this, either. The best thing-”

  “The best thing would be if you’d just stayed gone!” Meagan snapped.

  Lisiantha flinched at the venom in her voice, and noted the tears in her eyes. “I only came to say goodbye because you seemed upset I didn’t last time. Sorry, I guess that was the wrong thing to do.”

  She turned to go when Meagan seethed, “The wrong thing to do was letting Josh go. How could you? How could you let him go to his death?”

  Lisiantha stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

  “He’s at The Guild! He took off after your fight, with the crazy idea that maybe if he went to them first he could save Mére – just to suit you! And you didn’t even try to stop him! Even after what they did to Drake, you still let him go. Are you punishing him for not showing you enough affection? Is that
what-”

  Lisiantha cut her off. “Josh is at The Guild?”

  “Of course he is! You know that! He-”

  “I thought he was with the other coven,” Lisiantha said. “God. He can’t go to The Guild. They don’t settle disputes, they just kill anyone who complains! What in the hell was he thinking?”

  Maegan blinked at her for a moment. “You wanted him to go.”

  “No! I never told him to go there! I said I was thinking of moving into the citadel, but I never told him to go complain to the Executioners! Oh my God.” She was too flustered to think. She needed to do something. But what?

  “I have to go.” She started forward, then fluttered back. “Ishirou, stay here. I-I don’t know what I’m doing yet.”

  “Hey! But-”

  She didn’t let him answer, but hurried out to her car. She’d go to the den first, call The Guild, try to find out if Josh was there, if he’d been punished, then…

  Then I’ll go get him if I have to.

  But, God, two days. He’d been there two days already. Two days with no contact. That couldn’t be good.

  Maybe he’s just in prison, she told herself. Maybe they didn’t kill him on sight. Please, please don’t let him be dead.

  With that prayer, she pulled into the driveway, spraying snow and gravel, and slid to a stop. Her heart pounded as she threw open the door and raced to the house. Inside, she barreled past a pair of surprised coven mates, and blundered to a stop in the hallway before the telephone. A book of telephone numbers was on the table, well worn, and she thumbed through it with shaking fingers. The Guild. The Guild. God, they had to be there somewhere. They had-

  “-And that should take care of things.”

  The voice that drifted from the living room was unfamiliar, and Lisiantha stiffened. Was the other coven there? Were they taking Mére right now? She’d promised to stay out of it, and yet…

  Her feet moved almost on their own, around the corner, through the dining room, and then to the living room doorway. A knot of vampires stood in the center of the room. Mére was there, her hair up and tears in her eyes. Next to her a short vampire in a black coat, with red hair and Asian features that reminded her of Ichirou, and next to him was-

  “Josh!”

  He looked up in time to catch her as she tackled him. She squeezed him hard enough to crush a mortal’s ribs, then grabbed his face in her hands. “Where have you been? Maegan said you went to The Guild!”

  “He did,” the redhead quipped. “That’s why I’m here.”

  Lisiantha’s gaze moved from the visitor’s face to the medallion around his neck. “Oh my God, an Executioner! What’s he doing here?”

  The vampire grinned. “Just making house calls on Christmas Eve. Straightening things out. Settling wars.” He turned serious. “I’d suggest you all stay away from that other coven for a while. They’ve accepted the ruling, but they’re not happy about it.”

  Lisiantha looked wildly from him to Josh. “What ruling?”

  Josh motioned to the Executioner. “He officially ruled that since the other coven was trespassing, the kill was legal. That means if they go to war with us, it’s an illegal war, and their lives would be forfeit.”

  “Right. Looks like my magic is done here.” The Executioner made a show of wiping his gloved hands, as if he’d actually been doing hard labor. “I’ll leave you to it. Though perhaps Mére would like to show me out?”

  “Well, yes, I-”

  “Good. Good. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry-” but they were gone before Lisiantha had finished the greeting. She shook her head, and looked back to Josh, her mind still boggled. “So Mére…”

  “Mére is fine. They can’t hurt her.”

  She sagged against him with relief. “Oh, thank God. But I thought…” She pulled back to look at him. “Did you really go to The Guild?” He nodded and she exploded, “That could have been suicide!”

  He pulled her to him, and laid his head on hers. “I know. But I couldn’t let them take Mére. Not just because of you. I didn’t want to see you hurt, but even beyond that it was wrong. She didn’t break the law, and she didn’t deserve to be punished. When I got to The Guild, they sent me off to wait. I had to get a room for the day and everything. It was just luck that I ran into that guy in the shopping area last night. There were two women fighting over him, so he was happy to escape. He said since I helped him, he’d help me. Once I told him the story, he agreed that Mére was in the right. We went to the other coven first, to make sure they didn’t do anything drastic, but we couldn’t make it here before sunup. Anyway, so we found a place for the day, and after the sun went down, we came here.”

  It was all too much for Lisiantha, and a sob broke loose. He pulled back with a frown, and cupped her chin, lifting her gaze to his. “Lisy? Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “I-I’m just so relieved. Mére…she was ready to go…to die…and you…I thought The Guild had killed you.” She buried her face in his chest, her body shaking with sobs. “I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do.”

  He soothed her softly. “It’s all right, Lisy. I told you to trust me, remember? That I’d take care of it?”

  “I-I know…but…”

  “But nothing.” He released her to wipe the tears from her face. “Now cheer up. Here. While I was at The Guild I got you something.” He pulled a small box from his pocket and held it out. “Consider it a Christmas present.”

  She fumbled to open the box and reveal a glittering ring. “What? Is this…?” But she couldn’t say it.

  He caught her hands and met her eyes. “It is if you want it to be.”

  She couldn’t find words as he carefully slipped the ring on her finger and tilted her hand to admire it. “You wanted it to be official. Is this official enough?”

  She nodded, and swallowed back happy tears. “But-but I didn’t get you a gift.”

  “Of course you did.” His eyes softened and he smiled. “You brought me the best gift. You.”

  Lisiantha’s giggles were drown out by his kiss.

  * * * * * * * * * *

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  About the author:

  Joleene Naylor is the author of the glitter-less Amaranthine series, a world where vampires aren’t for children. As a compliment to the novel series, she has also written several short story collections and the Amaranthine Files encyclopedia.

  In what little time is left she watches anime and updates her blogs, all from a crooked Victorian house in Villisca, Iowa. Between her husband and her pets, she is never lonely, and should she ever disappear one might look for her on a beach in Tahiti, sipping a tropical drink and wearing a disguise.

  Ramblings from the Darkness at https://www.joleenenaylor.com

  You never know what you’ll find in the shadows…..

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