Chapter 3 The Blood Link

         Veronica put the handkerchief on the coffee table and unfolded it revealing a small bloody piece of the lamp from Bonner Manor. David sat and stared at the gory bit of porcelain.

Veronica put her arm around him. “You can do it. You’re gifted like your great-great-grandfather, Gregory Vale. I’ll be here at your side; I won‘t let you be harmed.”

         “Wait a minute,” Hank said. “Is this dangerous?”

         “Don’t worry,” David said. “It shouldn’t be any worst than a bad dream. I’ll experience what happened as though I was the person who lost this blood.” He stood up, removed his suit coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Sitting down, he inhaled deeply and exhaled. He reached for the bloody shard but then hesitated.

         “Are you all right?” Veronica asked.

         David nodded and then turned to his partner. “Hank, I need your help.” David held out his right hand. “Pick it up and place it bloody side down on the palm of my hand.”

         Hank picked up the bit of porcelain with his right hand and steadied David’s trembling hand with his left. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

         “It has to be done and I’m the only one in the room who can do it.” David took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Give it to me.”

         When the porcelain touched his hand David gasped and fell back against the back of the couch. His hand was closed tightly and his eyes were moving rapidly behind closed lids.

         “He looks like he’s asleep and dreaming,” Hank said.

         “Yes,” Veronica said. “It often appears that way, but we must watch him closely. If at any point he appears to be in distress we must remove the shard from his hand and end the link.”

         “How long will this take?”

         “There’s no way to tell. As with a dream, hours can be compressed into minutes. We have no way of knowing what he’s experiencing. When he comes to he will tell us what happened and hopefully the identities of the missing Cross and the killer.”

         Maria came into the room carrying a tray with a crystal decanter filled with a dark red liquid. She placed the tray on the coffee table. Next to the decanter were a crystal glass, package of gauze bandages, a sketch pad and a pencil.

         Hank never took his eyes off David. Suddenly he shouted, “Is that supposed to happen?”

         A long jagged cut had opened up over David’s right eye and blood was running down the side of his face. As they watched another opened on his left cheek and a third on his chin.

         Maria pointed and said, “Look at his hand.” Blood was dripping from his fist.

         Veronica was clearly frightened. “Hank, open his hand and remove the shard.”

         As he tried, without success, to pry David’s fist open Hank asked, “What’s happening?”

         Veronica poured some of the liquid from the decanter onto some of the gauze squares and placed them on the cuts on David’s face. She said, “The shard has cut into his hand mixing its blood into his. The link has gone too far. We may not be able to break it.”

         “Are you telling me he may stay like this?”

         Tears were running down Veronica’s face. Another wound opened on David’s chest and a red stain was spreading on his shirt. As she tore the shirt open and covered the wound with red soaked gauze she said, “Something is happening to the person he’s linked with, and they may both die if we can’t break the link.”

         Hank again pulled David’s fingers; this time he succeeded. The porcelain was imbedded deep into David’s palm. Hank pulled it out and Maria put David’s hand over a basin and washed out the wound with water. Then Veronica poured some of the liquid from the decanter onto his palm.”

         David moaned and opened his eyes. He tried to sit up but fell back. Veronica poured some of the decanter’s contents into the glass and touched it to his lips. As he sipped the red liquid his strength began to return and he was able to sit up. When he spoke his voice was a hoarse whisper. “Hank, call headquarters and tell Captain Jameson to send uniforms and an ambulance to 1258 Baker Lane, apartment 4B. Our eye witness, Philip Kent, is badly injured and needs help.”

         While Hank made the call David took the glass from Veronica and finished drinking its contents. Veronica refilled it and said, “Just one more, you must drink it all.”

         “What is that stuff?” Hank asked the maid.

         “Heart’s Blood,” she answered.

         “It’s blood?” Hank felt a bit nauseous at the thought.

         “No,” Maria replied. “Heart’s Blood is a healing potion, made of wine and herbs. The Vampyra have used it for centuries.”

         “It appears to be working,” Hank said as he watched the wounds on David’s face closed and vanished. When David finished drinking the second glass of potion, Hank asked, “What did you learn?”

         As Veronica bandaged his hand, David told them. “Our missing Cross is Philip Kent. At first I was at Bonner Manor looking through his eyes. He arrived at the manor house and just in time to see Draper lock himself in the wine cellar. Then he found the killer kneeling over Bonner. Kent picked up the lamp intending to strike, but the killer swung his cane and hit the lamp. The shattering lamp cut Kent’s hand. The killer swung again and Kent caught hold of the cane. They fought over it and Kent got it away from him. The killer fled out the French Doors to the patio and vanished into the dark. Kent went to the wine cellar door, but the door was locked and Draper wasn’t answering him. Finally Kent left taking the cane with him.”

         “Why didn’t he call for help?” Hank asked.

         “He was frightened and not thinking clearly.” David stood up, and began pacing as he talked. “Suddenly everything changed and I was at Kent’s apartment. He was trying to fight off an attacker, and I was looking through his eyes into the man’s face. Kent was badly injured. His attacker had him by the front of his shirt with one hand and was holding a knife in the other. Kent knew he was going to die, and I couldn’t tell where his fear ended and mine began. His attacker stared into Kent’s eyes and then released him. As he stood up, I heard him swear and say, “I’ll deal with you later, Vale.” He took his cane and left. Kent past out, you broke the link and I woke up.”

         “Was Bonner’s killer and Kent’s attacker the same man?” Hank asked. David stopped pacing and nodded.

         Veronica sat on the couch and beckoned to David to join her. “Come, David, show us.”

         David sat next to her and she gave him the sketch pad and pencil. With his eyes closed he drew two faces. The first was more like a rabid wolf than human. The second was a bearded man, with cold eyes and an angry sneer. Both had a jagged scar that ran from above the left eye and across the cheek.”

         Veronica took the pad and studied the pictures. “I know this man.” She put the pad on the coffee table. “He’s Armand Santin, the man who killed Jonathan.” She took hold of David’s arm. “He knows you are Jonathan’s son, and he’ll do his best to kill you.”

         “Then why did he stop? By killing Kent he would have also killed me.”

{indent{Veronica said, “The Blood Feud requires that he face you in combat.”

         David went to the fireplace and paced back and forth in front of it, ignoring Hank and Veronica when they tried to speak to him. Suddenly he turned to Hank and said, “I’m going upstairs to cleanup and change my shirt, and then we’ll go to Kent’s apartment.” He ran out of the room and up the stairs.

         Hank followed him to the stairway and then went back into the living room. “He seems to be very agitated. Is he going to be all right?”

         “I hope so,” Veronica said. “Watch him closely and call me if there’s any sign that the link is not completely broken.”

         When David came back into the living room he appeared calmer, but did not answer Veronica when she asked if he was all right. He put on his suit coat and said, “Hank, let’s go.”

         As they neared the car David handed the keys to Hank. “You better drive I’m still feeling a bit shaky.”

         Hank nodded and went around to the driver’s side of the car. As he steered the car onto the road he said, “The captain said the uniforms would secure the scene and the forensic team will meet us



"Chapter 4 Phillip Kent"