Veil Dancer (Downtime to Decide)

Kari turned to Kris " Leave me here for awhile?" Kris bowed his head and in his voice that sounded like rocks rolling in a cement mixer said " Whatever you wish my Lady." Kris grabbed his beat up jacket and walked out the door. In the distance Kari heard his motorcycle drive away. "Why, does he speak to me like that?" she inquired. Marie answered mischievously " He is your guardian." "He has sworn allegiance to you no matter what side you choose." Kari absently scratched at her head. " This is allot to digest in a short time." " I understand child" Marie said. "Let me show you to the guest room." "There you can get some rest and we will finish our discussion over dinner." Marie led Kari out of the room full of candles into a hallway. Entering the hallway Marie lit a lamp. Marie mumbled " The gas lighting, I had it put in this house to remind me of my home in the French Quarter." She sighed. "How I miss it."
Marie opened the door of a room at the end of the hall. A large poster bed dominated the room. Heavy curtains of red hung on the bed frame hiding the actual bed from sight. On the wall were black and white photographs of various buildings in New Orleans. Marie handed Kari a vile " Put this on the cut." Kari absently looked down at where Glenn had sliced and sucked on her arm. The cut was infected and also had a weird black glow to it. " There saliva has a germ in it that is like a narcotic" Marie explained. "It is what makes a human go back and let themselves be fed on until they die." " What is in the vile?" Kari asked. " A mixture of White tulips, Saint John's wort, and a dash of Laudanum." "It will heal the wound and help you rest." "Now" Marie said " I have water heated so you may take a bath." Bathe, take a nap and when you awake" Marie handed her an old skeleton key. " Unlock the room on the other side of the house." She pointed in the general direction. "There I will meet you and we can discuss the mess you have stepped in."

Kari walked into the bathroom. In the antiquated room a claw foot bathtub filled with steaming water awaited her. She undressed and slipped into the water. The heat of the water slightly scalded her skin and melted the soreness and stress out of her body.She begin to forget about the whiplash life changes and found herself nodding off. Catching herself before she slipped into the water Kari got out of the tub. Wrapping herself in a ruff cotton towel she walked into the bedroom. To one side there was a dressing screen. The picture painted across the screen was of two swans. One black and one white. The river that they swam down was a blue green. The water seemed to swirl around the swans bodies. Kari found herself spellbound by the painting. The longer she stared at it the more lifelike it became. When she swore she could hear the sound of the river she shook her head and broke the spell. Walking over to the other side of the room she opened the closet. In the closet were various colored dresses of silk. She chose one that seemed familiar and put it on slowly. Pulling the cork from the vile Marie gave her she rubbed the tincture into the ugly wound. A weird sensation crept up her arm and over the rest of her body. A burning numbing sensation. In a dreamy calm state Kari walked over to the bed and pulled back the curtains. Engraved in the wood of the bed were images of angels. As if the bed had been made out of ancient pews from a church. Crawling under the Soft sheets that covered the feather bed mattress Kari begin to dream. She dreamt of the buildings in the pictures on the walls. She felt as though she were walking through each building and exploring them. Drifting in another time she walked the gas lamp streets. Shopped in the stores and forgot all about the terror of the last few days.