The Healing Souls

Calling for Advice

[Dennis]

When I woke that afternoon, Francesca was waiting for me with her head on my chest. I scratched her ears and she licked my face. She was always happy when I woke up.

Back when I first brought her home, she would worry when I slept. Tyler said she would whine and scratch at my door until he opened it. Then she would try everything in her power to wake me up and would end up whimpering on my chest by the time I did.

It was nice to have someone to worry about me. I never thought I would have that and the goddess gave it to me in the form of this sweet puppy. Though I knew I couldn’t keep her forever, I would cherish every year I got with Francesca.

Sitting up, I rubbed her belly and cooed to her in baby talk. This was something that was kept a strict secret between the two of us. Tyler found that she was content to spend the hours before I woke up in my bed and started letting her in a couple hours before I woke, then closing the door.

As I was talking to my dog, my phone began ringing. It only rang twice before it stopped. I was curious. I didn’t often receive phone calls this early in the evening.

The number was not one I recognized, so I called it back. After a few rings, I was sent to voicemail. Why would they call me if they didn’t intend to speak with me?

“You’ve reached Billie Mason, leave a message at the beep and I’ll call you back as soon as I can. If you don’t leave a message, I will not call back,” the machine’s recording told me.

I chuckled. She must have had second thoughts about calling me. I knew it was about her birthday celebration, but there was no reason for her to be afraid. It wasn’t as if she knew I bite….

With a smile, I redialed the number. This time, she answered.

“Hello?” Her voice was small and meek.

“This is Dennis Lyons. Is this Billie?”

“I realized you were probably driving home from work and I didn’t want to cause an accident. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

That was a lie, from what I’d told her last night, she should have known I worked nights. Each thing she said amused me more and more.

“You better not hang up on me. You’re not bothering me, Billie. I gave you my card for a reason. Did you figure out where you would like to go for your birthday dinner?”

“I… I mean… I really wanted to go to Ruby…. I understand if that’s not possible,” she said quickly.

“That’s not a problem at all. Were you planning to go out dancing after? I’m going to guess you picked Club Rapture. It’s not too far from the restaurant and has a higher level of clientele than my other establishments. Did I guess right?”

“Yes. On Friday?” Sybil asked.

I chuckled again. Franny cоcked her head at me and I resumed scratching her belly. She didn’t like her time to be interrupted, but I wanted to talk more to Sybil.

Sybil didn’t know I was in bed, so I decided to pretend as if I were accessing a computer. Most vampires had fairly accurate memories and I wouldn’t forget what she wanted for her birthday. I would go to my office as soon as the call was over and input it into my system.

After confirming a time, the party size, and that I would have her on all of my VIP lists, Sybil squealed with glee at her present. I had never made a woman that happy outside of the bedroom.

“Is there anything else?” I asked.

“How was Francesca when you got home?”

I paused for a moment. She remembered my Franny. My esteem for her grew. My dog was like my child and I always appreciated people remembering her.

“She was cowering under my bed. A few treats and some ear scratches made her feel much better. I was worried she would be upset with me, but she just seemed happy I was home,” I replied.

“I bet she was super happy to see you.”

“How did the rest of your shift go?”

“It was quiet. The police that come by frequently stopped in. No one else, though. Not until my relief came in the morning. It was like the rain kept everyone away, even the late-night regulars,” Sybil answered.

“Were you alright?”

“Yeah. The lights stayed on and everything went smoothly. Thank you again for staying with me last night. You really didn’t have to do that.”

“As a gentleman, I most definitely did.”

We talked more about other topics. Though I thought we had talked about everything imaginable last night, we found new topics to discuss. I found myself smiling more than I ever had before.

“I need to go,” Sybil said sadly. “I have to work tonight.”

“I’ll come by later to see you. I want to make sure you’re alright. If the power goes out again, I’ll come straight over to stay with you. Sound good?”

“Yeah. That sounds great. See you later,” she replied.

She hung up and I stared at the phone. I had just spent two hours talking to her and I felt as if I could have talked longer. How had a human managed to interest me so much?

Maybe the woman who’s afraid of the dark is a second chance…. I shook my head to get Carmen’s words out of it. That wasn’t confirmed. It was simply a supposition.

I got out of bed, showered, and changed into something I could work in. When I went to the kitchen, I found Tyler preparing my blood for me.

Ever since they’d started bagging blood, I hadn’t had live donors. Taking blood from a donor was too intimate. I never liked it. This was much better for me.

Accepting the blood, I drank it reverently. I didn’t need to drink every day, but it made me feel better when I could. I liked feeling as if I was firing on all cylinders.

“You stayed in bed longer than normal today. Are you feeling okay? Your clothes were damp when you got home. Did that rain do something to you?” Tyler asked.

“I’m fine. I was taking a phone call. You can take the rest of the evening off. I don’t need your assistance,” I told him, rinsing out my mug and setting it in the sink. “Was there any news on the remaining rain?”

“This rain is caused by the water witches in the area. They’re trying to wash away the magical water and we are cleared to go out in it. Are you going out tonight as well?”

“I plan to check in with some of the restaurants to see how closing for the night went over last night affected them. I want to check in with some of the clubs as well, but I figured I would go talk to the managers in person instead of calling them. Plus, I have one other stop to make. Anyway, I’m going to my office now. I’ll be home until around midnight.”

He knew the conversation was over and didn’t press it further. I was grateful for that. Tyler was occasionally a demanding person to be around. He didn’t like not knowing things and would press the issue. For the most part, he accepted when I told him to stop, but there were times when he didn’t.

Franny followed me to my office and went to chew her bones in the corner while I started making my calls. There were a few restaurants where people were angry because they had reservations for last night. I told the managers to call back and offer the owners’ seats on a future evening.

I made sure to reserve Sybil’s table, though, and get her on the list for the club she wanted. There was a note on the table reservation that this was a special guest of mine and she should be treated exceedingly well.

Having resolved those issues, I looked at the time. It was only ten in the evening. I could have gone out, but I wanted to ensure my time with Sybil wouldn’t be interrupted. Leaving before eleven in the evening was not going to give me that freedom.

Perhaps I could get some advice on how to proceed. If she was a second chance, but I didn’t feel that biting urge I felt when I met my first Solus Amor, that might mean she didn’t feel anything for me, either. Aside from her attraction to me.

Who would be the best person to talk to about this? Did I even want a second chance? Would she accept me once she knew I was a vampire? Could I accept loving a human? Would she want to change for me?

There were too many questions as my mind waffled between wanting to accept this possible second chance and wanting to hide from a potential failure. If I put my heart out for this woman, there was a chance she would break it. I would be a laughingstock if that happened.

Most other vampires in the area already knew about my Solus Amor rejecting me. If I put in the effort with this human and she did the same, no one would ever take me seriously again. Especially with some foolish idea about her being a second chance for me.

Tyler was a bad idea for someone to talk to and I didn’t have a lot of friends, only friendly acquaintances. There was one person I could talk to, but the chance that she would tell Master Nightshade about me going out last night might be too much of a risk.

Echo was gifted by the goddess in regard to love. Not only was she given two mates to love, but also she was given so much love inside her that it overflowed to others. It made even Master Marius soften, though it was dangerous to say such things to him.

Perhaps she would see the truth of what this was and would be able to tell me if it was wishful thinking brought on by Carmen’s suggestion. If it was true that Sybil was mine, perhaps she could tell me how to win her. Echo hadn’t felt her bond with either of her mates but fell in love with them, anyway.

I picked up my phone and dialed her. It didn’t take long for Echo to answer. She sounded chipper and cheerful.

“Dennis! Why are you calling? Is something wrong?” Echo asked.

“Yes and no,” I replied. “I needed to talk to someone and I think you might be able to advise me best. Do you have time to talk?”

“Are you sure you want to talk to me? I’m not very old and I don’t understand a lot of things about vampires.”

“This isn’t a vampire issue. It is an issue of the heart, but I need you to promise to keep some information from Master Nightshade.”

“Oh…. I don’t normally keep information from Victor. I can try, but I might accidentally slip. Did something happen that might make him mad?”

“I went out last night, despite the order not to unless it was necessary. I thought I would be able to avoid the rain, but I needed to get gasoline and my cards weren’t working at the pump. When I went in to get my change from the attendant, the power went out. Carmen told me a couple weeks ago that I’d encounter a woman who was afraid of the dark and not to leave her alone.

“The attendant was a woman and the smell of her fear was intense. She was frightened beyond what I thought an adult woman should be in the dark. So I stayed with her. It was her birthday and she was working for a coworker who had an issue. I offered her entrance to one of my restaurants and clubs. It helped her feel better.

“We talked the whole time and I didn’t think much about it, but Carmen also said that perhaps this woman was a second chance for me. She’s human. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I should pursue a relationship or not,” I explained.

Echo was quiet for a moment. “I know that vampires don’t get second chances, but I also know that the goddess wants everyone to be happy. That’s what Gray is teaching me about her. Though I still haven’t entirely forgiven her for letting me suffer for so long, I do believe that the goddess is doing her best.

“Get to know this woman more. Gray did that with me. If there’s a bond, it will grow. If there isn’t, then you’ve gained a friend. I think more friends are always a good thing. I love making new friends,” Echo answered.

“Even though she’s human?”

“Human or not human doesn’t matter. We’re all people. I know you were never human, just a living vampire, like me. She’s had an entirely different life from anything you could imagine. Learn more from her. If you like her, Dennis, you really should give it a try. Do you like her?” she asked.

I closed my eyes. “I do. I’ve never had a conversation like I did with her and she called me earlier this evening. We talked again and would have kept on talking if she hadn’t had to go to work.”

“Good. Talk to her more. See her more. Bring her to Gray’s celebration dinner, if you can. Let me know if she accepts the invitation. I want to meet her. Just be the kind and strong man I know you are. If it’s meant to be, it will be,” Echo said.

“Thank you, Echo. You’ve made me see clearly. I’ll go see her tonight.”

“You do that. I’ll talk to you later, Dennis. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

“Thank you for helping me. Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do to repay your kindness.”

She laughed. “You never have to repay kindness. You just have to be kind to others. The best reward is seeing it passed on.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I started getting ready to go out in the rain. I would see Sybil again and if anything grew from it, I would be happy. Even if it was only friendship.