Beautiful Monster-The Exchange (4 page)

Carly let out a shriek and took cover behind Lev. “Can
he see me?” she asked, her voice shaky.

Alexei answered for his brother, “Oh yes, my dear. I am
sure of it.”

A towering, barrel-chested figure started slowly down
the front steps, but then, in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly there,
standing in front of the trio, his gaze glued on Alexei.

Yearning emanated from Boris. Lev felt it pulling at
him—a stark contrast to the fierce-looking brute peering down on them. He wore
a tattered old suit with sleeves that were too short, and the seams of the
threadbare jacket threatened to rip apart across his great chest. A hole worn
through the top of one of his shoes offered a peek at a white sock over his big
toe.

“I knew I’d see you again, comrade.” Boris’s voice was
as big as he was—booming and deep. He clasped Alexei’s shoulder, and Lev
noticed his brother flinch as Boris’s nails curled into his leather jacket.

Reluctantly, as if not wanting to take his eyes off a
prize, Boris turned his bulbous head toward Carly and sniffed the air like a
dog. Lev heard the whistle of the man’s breath as he inhaled.

An eyebrow shot up in a question mark. “You are dead,
yet you are not one of us.” Boris’s words were more of a question than a
statement. “What kind of creature are you? There is no pulsing of blood in your
veins.” He scratched his nearly bald pate in puzzlement.

Lev stepped protectively in front of Carly, who’d been
peeking out from behind him. “She’s not among the living. She is, well, I guess
she is what people call a
ghost
.” He knew Carly wouldn’t like him
describing her with that word, but it was the only thing that came to mind.

“Are you serious?” Boris reached around and pulled Carly
out from behind Lev by one slender arm, giving her a look that said, “No need
to worry. I won’t hurt you.” It was the look a man gave a suffering animal
caught in a trap.

He studied her as if she were merely a sculpture,
letting his gaze roam from head to toe. “How is it I can see you? I’ve never
seen a
ghost
before. Hell, I did not think they even existed.”

“I don’t think many…
people
can see me,” Carly
said, “other than the three of you of course, but that’s because you’re, well,
you’re…
special
.” Her voice trembled. “But since you can see things
mortals can’t, how would you even know if you’ve never seen a ghost before?”
She smiled. Her eyes crinkled, making her look more like a child than a grown
woman.

Boris returned her smile. “Smart girl. But truly, will
wonders never cease? I am still amazed by you.” He touched her hair, lifting it
and letting it fan back onto her shoulders as he walked a circle around her.
“And that dress? Going to a party perhaps?” He laughed.

Carly tipped her head in a gesture of respect. Boris moved
away from her then and turned his attention to Lev. His smile broadened,
showing crooked, stained teeth. Fangs poked through leathery gums—tissue time
had hardened. “You are as beautiful as your brother. I did not know you
existed. Alexei never spoke of you.” He stepped closer and nuzzled his face
into Lev’s neck, sending a shiver of repulsion down Lev’s spine. He wanted
nothing more than to move away, yet instinct rooted him to the spot.

Boris ran his tongue up Lev’s neck. It had a sandpapery
feel like that of a cat’s. Then he took a breath, inhaling Lev deeply. “You
taste and smell divine. I am disappointed it wasn’t me who had the privilege of
turning you.” He flicked his tongue once more, dragging it farther up Lev’s
throat, then licked his lips. “But that does not mean I cannot have a taste.”

Lev’s stomach did a flip-flop, and this time he did step
backward, though he did his best to cover his distaste for the man. With a weak
smile, he said, “Perhaps later.”

The large man’s expression turned serious. His smile
faded and was replaced by a furrowed brow. “Why have you come?” His question was
directed at Alexei who did a nervous little side step, his gaze trained firmly
on the ground. A moment of silence passed as Alexei seemed to be thinking, then
suddenly Boris, perhaps growing bored, let the question go.

The big Russian laughed. “What kind of host am I?” He
was a changeable man. “Please, come inside. We will be much more comfortable.”
He started slowly striding toward the front doors of his house. The trio eyed
each other and reluctantly followed.

The house was huge, larger than anything Lev had ever
seen. Their voices echoed in the cavernous rooms, even though they were filled
to overflowing with furniture and an assortment of knick-knacks. Boris was the
undead’s version of a hoarder, thought Lev.

They followed him into what he announced with a grand
gesture was the great room. It was a large sunken living room surrounded by
couches on all sides. A fireplace so massive a man could walk right into it
without even ducking was the centerpiece, and in it a fire blazed.

Overflowing bookcases decorated the walls, and the large
wooden coffee table in the middle of the arrangement of couches was cluttered
with magazines, bottles, glasses, and piles of books. There were bags of potato
chips on the floor and empty beer bottles lying on their sides on an area rug
that had seen better days, making it look as if a raucous party had just ended.
Lev wondered why a creature such as Boris, who needed nothing but blood to
survive, would have food and drink around the house. Perhaps they were for the
pleasure and entertainment of others, he thought…human others.

With one sweep of his thick forearm, Boris whisked
everything from the table onto the floor. “Gerry?” he bellowed. A moment later,
a skinny, young man with a large nose and close-set eyes entered. He gave a
small bow.

“Clean this up and bring my guests a glass of, well,
something suitable. You know what to do.” He looked at Carly, who sat squashed
between Lev and Alexei on a worn sofa. “Anything for you, my dear? Or, are you
finished with the annoying necessity of having to feed oneself?”

Lev had wondered the same thing but suspected that
without a body, Carly would no longer need sustenance.

“Nothing for me,” she answered.

The hawk-nosed Gerry exited and was back quickly with
three tumblers filled with a viscous red fluid. Lev noticed a fresh needle mark
in the crook of Gerry’s arm as he took his glass. The blood was still warm.

“A negative. A rare vintage,” Gerry whispered, then made
quick work of cleaning up before exiting.

“A toast?” Boris stood, and the two men did the same.
“To the return of my Alexei. I have waited an eternity for you.” The large man
drank, draining his glass in one gulp. Then he banged it down on the table as
if he’d just downed a shot of vodka. “Nostrovia!”

Lev looked at his brother before doing the same.
Alexei’s eyes were wide and darted quickly away from his. What had gone on
between Boris and his brother?

The beast sat down again, on the couch opposite them. It
groaned in protest at his bulk. With a sly smile, he patted the spot beside him
while eyeing Alexei.

Alexei cleared his throat nervously, then slowly made
his way over to sit beside Boris. Without hesitation, the big man threw a thick
arm around Alexei, pulling him close.

“So, is someone going to tell me why it is that I have
the pleasure of your company?” Boris asked good-naturedly.

Lev spoke, thinking it best to get right to the point. “We
were hoping you could help us. By us, I mean Carly and I.”

Boris looked confused. “Whatever can I do? What is the
matter?”

Lev filled Boris in on the details, explaining how he
and Carly would have to part in just a few short days. The big man took it all
in with what looked like genuine concern. Then when Lev was finished, he said,
“I will help, but you will have to give to me something in return.” A devilish
grin spread across purplish lips.

Alexei pulled away from Boris and got to his feet. “I’m
not staying here with you if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“But I have missed you so much. You cannot imagine,”
Boris cooed. “I searched high and low but could not find you, and now here you
are, landing on my doorstep. Why else would you come if you did not want to see
me?”

Alexei sighed and threw his brother a nasty look. “I’m
here because I want to help Lev. We thought if anyone knew a way he and Carly
could stay together, it would be you.”

Boris’s expression darkened. “How did
you
know
where to find
me
?”

“It’s easy nowadays. With the Internet, you can find
anyone.” Alexei smiled sheepishly.

“I do not like this Internet.” Boris brought his hands
to his forehead and grimaced as if a sudden headache struck. “It makes my head
spin.” Then his dark eyes narrowed and his brow knit. “If you knew where I was,
why did you not come sooner?”

“Um, I think Alexei just didn’t want to bother you,” Lev
spoke for his brother.

The big man sat back and nodded slowly as if
contemplating Lev’s words, then, without warning, Boris was on his feet, his
face a thundercloud. With one quick heave, he flipped the heavy wooden coffee
table upside down as easily as if it were made of cardboard.

Then he touched Alexei, running a sausage finger down
his chiseled face. “You are beautiful, Alexei. I have not seen a creature as
handsome as you in all my years, but it hurts to know you knew where I was but
did not bother to come to me until now, and it is only to ask a favor.” With a
meaty hand, he pulled Alexei’s face to his and kissed him on the lips. “You
will not get away this time. If you want me to help your brother, then you will
have to stay here with me.”

Alexei stepped away, wiping at his mouth with the back
of a hand, a grimace on his face. He stopped when he hit the first step that
led up out of the great room and fell down hard.

Like a hog spotting a filled trough, a squeal of delight
bubbled out of Boris just before he leapt onto Alexei. Distended fangs slid
like a warm knife through butter into Alexei’s neck. Lev smelled the blood as
strongly as if it was under his own nose. He could almost taste it. For a
moment he stood paralyzed by the scent. It made his mouth water and his fangs
fall into place.

“Help him!” Carly screamed at Lev.

He turned to her, letting out a hiss. She jumped away
with a whimper to hide behind a pillar of piled-up junk, but it had been enough
to pull Lev from his stupor. He gave his head a shake as if to clear the
cobwebs, then jumped in to help his brother who was flailing helplessly beneath
Boris’s bulk.

“Get off him.” Lev pulled at the large creature, but it
was like tugging on a grizzly bear.

“No!” Carly screamed.

Lev’s head snapped in her direction. She’d emerged from
her hiding place and was sitting on the floor with her hands over her face,
fingers splayed so she could take a peek every now and then.

Alexei was being attacked, but Lev wanted desperately to
comfort Carly. He could hear her muttering, “I have to leave. I have to get out
of here. Oh dear God, help me.” What was left of his heart broke. Yet he had no
choice but to try to help his brother.

With difficulty, he managed to pull his attention from
Carly, wound up, and punched Boris on the side of the head with as much force
as he could muster, but it did little more than annoy the man. Boris lifted his
head long enough to hiss and throw a dirty look at Lev. Blood dripped thickly
from his leathery lips and rolled in rivulets down his chin. How on earth would
Alexei survive this?

Suddenly, a spinning circle of golden light appeared in
the middle of Boris’s great room, stilling them. It hung in the air, growing
larger with every revolution. Lev watched as Carly began to crawl toward it.

“No!” he cried and took a step, but Boris swatted him
away as easily as a mosquito. Lev hit the corner of the coffee table with a
crack and yelped in pain.

Boris stood and stared at the spinning ball of light,
all interest in his meal lost.

Alexei scooted away, one shaky hand plastered over the
puncture wounds in his neck.

Before Lev could get to his feet, Carly was beside the
spinning circle. It had opened into a portal of some kind.

She reached out and touched the golden light with a
fingertip, then, without hesitation, stepped into it. No sooner had she done
so, than it began to close like the aperture of a camera. Lev saw tears as she
turned to face him. Then he felt his own stain his cheeks. The portal grew
smaller and smaller, until finally, it disappeared, taking Carly with it.

“What was that?” Boris said, staring at the spot where
it had been. He sat down on the step beside Alexei, as if unaware of the
brutality he’d just meted out.

Alexei moved carefully backward, crab-walking up the
steps toward the door. Then as quickly as a lightning strike, he was gone,
leaving Lev to fend for himself.

An hour later Lev walked through the door of his home;
the pink residue of tears on his cheeks was a pale reminder of his torment. It
had been easy to leave Boris’s dump of a mansion. The man had been too
dumbfounded and sated enough not to bother with Lev.

Once home, he turned left into the parlor and threw
himself onto the couch. Covering his face with his hands, he began to sob
again.

Alexei was suddenly at his side as if whisked in by an
unseen twister. “Does Boris know where we live?” he asked as he peeked through
the curtains. “He didn’t follow you, did he?”

Lev sat up and snarled, “You self-absorbed asshole!”

Alexei shrugged. “Nothing to be done now, brother. Time
will pass as it always does, and you will undoubtedly find another woman to
love, which will end in yet
another
heartbreak. Why not abandon this
madness now?” His tone was devoid of emotion—a flat line of words.

Lev shook his head in amazement. Why hadn’t he realized
yet how uncaring his brother was? Why did this callousness continue to surprise
him? He noticed Alexei’s wounds had healed—he was no worse for wear. Lev
switched gears, wanting to jab back at Alexei and summon up unpleasant emotions
in his brother. “Why are you so afraid of Boris?”

Alexei splayed long fingers over his chest and threw his
brother a look of surprise. “If you don’t know the answer to that after what
you’ve just witnessed, then you’re denser than I thought,” he said over his
shoulder as he left the room.

Lev followed him, and as he did, he tried to tune into
his brother’s thoughts but got nothing. Alexei was clever; he’d thrown up a
mental wall. There was more to it than what his brother was letting on. Lev
could feel it.

“You’re going to tell me. I won’t take no for an answer.
You know you’re stronger than I am and always will be because you’re my maker,
but I have some power over you now.” Lev raised a brow.

“You wouldn’t?” Alexei said, and Lev knew he’d read his
mind. A sigh of discontent rattled from his brother’s throat. “If you tell
Boris where to find me, he’ll…well, he’ll do something really awful to me. I
was lucky to get away! How stupid I was to take you there. You, my only
brother. See what I was willing to risk for you?”

Then, seemingly without reason, his demeanor softened
and he said with a sigh, “It’s really my own fault. I should have taught you
better. Taught you the ways of the creature I’ve turned you into.” He wagged a
slender finger and shook his head. “But you were always the sensitive type.
Always with your books and your poetry and your writing. I thought you’d be
more like me by now. Perhaps it’s because you’ve never
turned
anyone.
You haven’t, have you? Surely, you would have told me?”

Lev shook his head. “No, I haven’t and I never will.”

He thought back to when he’d almost turned Carly—holding
her delicate wrist to his lips, his needle fangs drawing blood. But that was
out of desperation, a need to keep her with him. He couldn’t even do it then.
Shame came over him briefly at the thought of what he’d been tempted to do to
his beloved Carly. There was something dark living within him, something that
constantly tried to claw its way to the surface.

“I knew it,” Alexei said, grinning widely. “If you’d
turned someone, you’d be changed. You’d be hardened and tougher like me and
like Boris.” He whispered Boris’s name as if there was power in just speaking
it.

“But I am like you. I feed like you,” Lev said. He
didn’t understand his own motives in defending himself. He didn’t want to be
like his brother, did he?

“You’ve never turned anyone and you’ve never killed, so
that’s where we are different, brother. As your maker, you’re my
responsibility, and as you well know, I’m not very responsible.” He laughed,
and it soon morphed into a giggle. “Time you learned to be a true creature of
the night, especially now.” Alexei placed a hand on Lev’s shoulder. It was a
tender gesture, but this time Lev bristled at his brother’s touch.

“You will come with me tonight. We will feed together
again for the first time in a very long time. You can either turn someone, or…”
Alexei threw a hand in the air, pointer finger straightened as if he’d had an
epiphany. “Perhaps you’re ready for a kill?” A devilish gleam shone in his
eyes.

Lev shook his head. “You go. I’d rather be alone.” His
words were hollow, and Alexei would see straight through them, but he was
afraid, plain and simple. There was too much of the old Lev, the true Lev,
still in him—enough to keep the darkness at bay for a while longer.

Alexei furrowed his brow and shook his head. “You wallow
in your grief and pain. You live a life of self-pity. It’s time you left that
behind. When you turn another or better still when you take a life, Lev, you
gain power. You take a part of your prey. In fact, we take a piece of every
person we kill and of every new creature we make. It’s how our kind builds
strength and how…” He moved close enough to whisper into Lev’s ear, then
continued, “It’s how we stop feeling. Weak human emotions disappear and oh,
what a
wonder
that is, brother.” Alexei’s dark eyes were mesmerizing,
and his smile grabbed at something deep inside Lev. “Do you want the pain to
stop?”

Lev nodded slowly. Did he really? He thought so. This
time with Carly, it was too much.

“Then come with me.” Lev stood, and Alexei clapped him
on the shoulder. “Now we will finally be brothers in every sense of the word.”
Alexei threw open the curtains to reveal a moonlit sky. “So much more is
waiting for you. Much more than you’ve dreamed and I’m finally going to get to
show you. Forgive me, Lev. I have not done my duty as your maker or as your
brother.”

Lev followed Alexei out into the night.