“Things have just been set in motion and I just don’t want you in
danger. Also,”
She continued, “call the servants and tell them we won’t be needing
them for a few days. We’ll pay
them, of course, but tell them not to come here unless they’ve heard from you
or me, personally.”
“Is the young master alright?” He
asked, looking at her face.
She looked toward the window, noticing the glow that was forming around
the edges of the thick material, “I believe so, but without being allowed to
see him, I can’t say for certain.” She
placed her hand on the cross around her neck, “They sent this to me yesterday.
I’m not sure what the message is…”
She looked up at him and smiled, “You know, I thought if I brought him
to them, they’d treat him better. I
was certain that they’d capture him themselves if I didn’t deliver him to
them. Perhaps I should have left
him safe in Tulsa.”
She mused.
“Lady, no one is safe if they truly want them.
You know they have people everywhere.”
Mr. Jones tried to ease her guilt.
“Yes, they do.” She
said. “Anyway,” she pushed away
her dark thoughts, “I think it would be best if you didn’t answer the phone.
And,” She paused, “I think, if you have anyone in the city that is
dear to you, you should have them go somewhere safe.
I’ll leave it up to you where you want to place people.
Tonight, there will be more coming to stay here.
Tell the doormen not to open the doors for anyone today.
If anything is to be delivered, cancel it.
Understand?”
He furrowed his brow; in the years he’d worked for her, he’d never
seen her like this. “So, are you
going to tell me what’s going on?” He
asked.
“It’s late.” She said.
“I won’t go into it now, but as I’m sure you know, we are about to
be at war with our rulers. I shall
tell all tonight, but until then, just be careful.
We eliminated a few of our worries this evening…”
She paused and smiled at him, “Which of course, will add to our worries
tomorrow.” She turned and headed
down the hall toward her room, “Good day, Jonas.”
He watched her, then let out a sigh and went into the kitchen to make
himself some coffee and begin making phone calls.
~~~~~
Victor sat, looking at the camera that showed Taylor, still unmoving,
still on his belly on his naked mattress. He
wasn’t certain he shared the others’ belief that the boy was anything more
special than any of the other females; at least the gifted ones.
He did think it interesting that at his age he could move things with his
mind, but he knew of some of the women who could do that, so it wasn’t all that
spectacular a thing. He looked up
as the clock on the wall ticked over to 4 p.m.
The boy would awaken within the hour and again, the others would try to
make him perform like a circus monkey. He
turned in the chair to face the door, knowing Daniel would come in at any
moment. At four o’clock, he
always checked the grounds via the camera system and he gave any instructions
that were needed to those who were coming in to do whatever it was they got paid
for. He hated all the modern
“conveniences” they had now. He
liked art and music and beauty, not technical gadgets and constantly having to
watch and listen to everything around him.
He sighed, thinking how much things had changed over the years.
He wasn’t stupid, though. He knew that it was all a necessary thing
now. He looked over his shoulder
again at Taylor; still no movement from the boy.
~~~~~
Beatriz pulled her long hair back in a ponytail, then braided it and
threw it back over her shoulder. She
looked at the clock on her table: 4:
07. Next to it, a dagger lay,
its blade gleaming in the light of the lamp above it.
She picked it up and wrapped the delicate silver chain of a rosary around
it, then she kissed it and placed it in her bag and pulled it up onto her
shoulder.
“Lady—“ Mr. Jones
said, as she stepped out into the main room.
“I am going out.” She
said. “Tell everyone to stay here
until I return.”
“Very well.” He said and
he bowed to her.
She smiled at him, “If I do not return before seven o’clock, tell
Sonya to carry on without me. She
knows what to do.”
“Yes, Madame.” He said.
“Be careful.”
“I shall.” She said, and
then she stepped into the elevator and was gone.
~~~~~
Daniel stepped in and looked at the monitors as Victor watched him.
“What’s wrong?”
The man asked.
Daniel shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know.
Allen didn’t show up tonight, and neither did Will Harrison.”
He furrowed his brow, looking at the spot on the rooftop where usually a
man sat watching. “It’s just
very odd.”
Victor raised an eyebrow, “Yes, it is.
Perhaps one of those twenty four hour bugs humans are always coming down
with?”
“Well, it’s not like they called or anything, they just didn’t show
up.” Daniel said.
“Very interesting...”
Victor sighed, “So, what do you think of Joshua’s plan?”
He asked.
Daniel sat down in a chair next to him, still gazing at the monitors,
“I think it’s very risky.” He
said. He then turned and faced the
man, with a grin, “But, it would work.”
Victor shook his head, “Do you honestly believe that he is worth all
the trouble?”
Daniel sat back in the chair and rested his hand against his cheek,
“Actually, it’s possible, even if it’s just to get back at Beatriz and her
little minions. They’ve gotten a
bit big for their britches, if you know what I mean.
Plus, I’ve dealt with him a time or two and he can strike out with his
mind…well, I saw what he did to Joshua. He’s
the real deal, even if he doesn’t know how to use it.”
~~~~~
Beatriz stood in the bedroom of a woman who’d begrudgingly given Taylor
her blood. When Simone Hargrave had
left her place of employment early that morning, she’d stopped at the grocery
store for items to fill her empty refrigerator and every time she’d bent her
arm, the painful bruise there reminded her of what she’d been made to do.
The pain wasn’t so bad though, when she’d been able to make her
purchase with the hundred dollar bill that had been placed in her hand as a
bonus for the pain and suffering she’d endured.
The clock ticked and the sun went down a little lower as Beatriz smelled
the room and the woman that lay unknowing in the bed.
She stepped closer and leaned in, thinking a familiar scent was somewhere
on her. It wasn’t her throat, so
Taylor hadn’t fed from her. She
moved down her body, taking in the various things she’d touched and places
she’d been. Humans were so
tactile, always needing to pick things up or feel them in their hands, as if
their other senses couldn’t be trusted. When
she got to the woman’s hands, her eyes narrowed; she’d most definitely
touched Taylor that day. His scent
was very clearly there. She reached
into her bag, and placed her hand around the handle of the dagger, her fingers
entwining in the silver chain and crystal beads of the rosary.
As the blade was placed no more than a centimeter from the woman’s
throat, Beatriz spoke. “What did
you do today? And do not lie, or I
shall cut through your spine before the words are out of your mouth.”
Simone’s eyes flew open to see a woman’s face close to her own.
She couldn’t see the knife, but she knew it was there.
“I- I went to work and then the store to buy food.”
“And what did you do at “work”?”
She asked, her dark eyes glittering in the bit of light from the window,
her fangs pressing against her full lips.
The woman knew it was no use lying.
This was one of them, and she obviously knew who she worked for.
“I watched for people coming around.
And then they took me and made me give blood to someone who
needed it.” She watched the
tiniest twitch of Beatriz’ perfectly arched eyebrow.
“And who would that have been and why was he needing your blood?”
“I don’t know.” She
said. She felt sweat forming on her
forehead. She’d met many of these
people and none of them had frightened her like this.
They just seemed like eccentric people who just happened to drink blood.
“He was sick or something.”
Suddenly the blade was pressed against her skin, “He shouldn’t be
sick. He should be well by now.”
Simone was holding her breath, “He won’t feed or something.
They’re giving him blood through an I.V. and he had a
bandage on his arm or something—his wrist.”
She corrected herself. “They
took my blood for him.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Beatriz
pressed harder, a tiny red line appearing under the blade.
Simone
shut her eyes for a second and willed herself not to swallow, “I don’t
know.”
She uttered. “He’s
not dying or anything, he’s just…”
Beatriz’ eyes narrowed, “What?”
“I don’t know.” She
said again.
Beatriz eased the knife back, allowing the woman to breathe.
“What do you
know, then?” She was searching
her mind for any secrets she may have been trying to hide.
“Think hard, it could save your life.”
“Like what?” The woman
asked, her voice shaky. “I just
work for them. I do what I’m told
and I go home.”
“What are they trying to get out of Taylor?”
“Is that the guy? They
didn’t tell me his name.” Simone
was reaching in her mind, trying to think of something to tell her.
Beatriz cocked her head in an alarming manner.
“I don’t know! They
just…they mentioned a Mr. Jones and said he said that he needed to feed and he
like, wouldn’t, or something. And
they said if he didn’t chill, they were gonna force him or something.
I wasn’t really paying attention because they were shoving a needle in
my arm!”
“Then what?”
“Then, the guy walked out and um, Taylor, I guess—well, he yanked it
out and said he didn’t want my blood, then the other guy came back again and
got pissed and told him he didn’t care if he starved himself, but he still
hooked it back up again and this time he stayed ‘til it was enough or whatever
and he just ignored the man and watched X-Files on TV.”
She paused a moment. “Um,
then they told me I could go home and they gave me an extra hundred bucks and I
left. That was all I saw of him.”
Beatriz took the knife away from the woman’s throat and seemed to let
out a breath that she too had been holding.
She sat the knife on the table beside the bed and took a look around the
room. Simone continued to be very
still, not knowing exactly what was going through the woman’s mind.
Finally, Beatriz looked back at her, “So, who else do you know that
works for them?”
“No one, really. I only
see them there and we don’t really get to talk or anything.”
She answered.
“Why did they hire you? What
special talents do you have that they wanted?”
Beatriz asked.
Slowly, Simone pulled her hand up to touch the place on her neck where
the knife had cut her skin. It
stung and she looked at her fingertips, seeing just enough blood to make her
angry. “I used to work for the
F.B.I.—surveillance and such. But
it was boring and when someone told me they knew some employers looking to hire
someone, well, I took it.”
Beatriz raised an eyebrow, “Well, you shouldn’t have.”
She said, leaning in close, “They’re not nice people.”
And before the woman could make a move, she had broken her neck with a
sickening snap. She then picked up
the knife and put it back in her bag, drug the body onto the rug beside the bed
and rolled it up in it.
Placing her bag on her shoulder and then the rug, she let
herself out and locked the door from the inside.
~~~~~
Taylor woke to the feeling of his throat being crushed as Nicholai jerked
him upright. “You have 5 seconds
to tell me what they’re up to.” He
growled. But the sun in the sky still held its power over him and his cloudy
mind wasn’t comprehending what was going on.
By 4:30, it had become apparent to the Elders that a large percentage of
their employees hadn’t shown up for work; human and vampire alike.
He tried to pull the man’s hand away, but it was like trying to bend a
rock. “What?”
He gasped. At once, he was
slammed against the wall—painful but better than having the delicate bones and
tissue of his neck destroyed.
“Your friends are making a very dangerous move against us.
I want you to tell me this master plan of theirs.”
Nicholai had moved so close to him so quickly, he’d hardly seen it.
He grabbed Taylor by his ankle and slid him across the floor to where
Balthazar stood, a smile on his face.
Leaning down, he spoke to the prostrate boy, “You don’t have to tell
us if you don’t want to…” He
whispered. “I’d love to get to
extricate it from you.”
Taylor opened his eyes wide, trying to wake up.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He said. It was
the truth. Beatriz had never told
him her exact plans and he hadn’t wanted to know.
As the man reached down towards him, Taylor scooted away as quickly as he
could, but he backed up into Nicholai. He
heard the collar on his shirt rip as the man pulled him into a standing
position.
“Shall we play their little game?
And eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?”
He asked Taylor. “I wonder
how Beatriz would like for you to disappear, or better yet, to be sent back to
her in a Ziploc bag?” He then
looked to Balthazar, “Get Joshua in here.
We’ll need to keep this little whelp someplace where he can do no harm
until I decide exactly what I’m going to do.”
“I won’t do anything.” Taylor
reasoned. “I don’t know what
they’re doing, I swear it!” He
cried.
Nicholai let out a snort, “You’re probably telling the truth.
She knows better than to let her little pawns know what
she’s up to. She doesn’t want
you to break under torture and spill the proverbial beans.”
He took Taylor by the chin roughly, “But there are things that you do
know and you will tell me, or you shall pay the price.
She’s taught you how to strike out with your mind, though
you are a male. I want to know how
you do it.” He said, his voice
threatening.
“She just said to throw it out and that using your hands makes your
mind work better.” Taylor said,
trying to pull away.
“She’s done something.” Nicholai
moved his face so close to Taylor’s the man’s face had become a blur.
“She’s done something to you.
Now what was it?” He
grilled. Behind him, the door
opened and Balthazar and Joshua stood.
“I told you he wouldn’t cooperate.”
Joshua said, smugly. He
turned to Nicholai, “I hope it’s alright, but, I took the liberty of setting
into motion, the plan that I spoke of to you last night.”
He said, leaning forward, almost to the point of a bow.
Nicholai’s eyes narrowed, “That’s awfully forward of you.”
He huffed and looked at Taylor, then back to Joshua,
“However, in light of what seems to be afoot here in the city, perhaps
you’ve made the right move.” He
said. Again, he looked at Taylor,
“When can we expect this thing to arrive?”
Joshua smiled and looked at his watch, “I’d think around midnight.
I was able to make contact there and cut our time in half, a one-way
trip, if you will.” He then
glared at Taylor, “Don’t try to get into my mind you little fuck head!”
He spat, throwing a punch squarely at Taylor’s temple.
It was possible, that he could have ducked, but with Nicholai holding
him, the man connected and stars formed behind his eyes and the world around him
blurred to an alarming, spinning mass of colors and shapes. He didn’t pass
out, but the pain in his head had him wishing he had. He almost smiled thinking
he’d already failed to heed Robert’s first lesson to him:
protect your head. He barely
comprehended being led down the hall and the musty stairway that would take him
back down to the place he’d been in before.
On the walls and the tables, his eyes took in the objects used to torture
unfortunate souls for centuries and he found himself praying for death to come
swiftly if they decided to use any of them on him.
To his relief, they marched him past them and into another hallway,
obviously unused for a long period of time because of the number of spider webs
he felt brushing his skin and the dust clouding up around their feet.
He heard a door opening with a loud creek as rusty hinges scraped against
each other. Thrown into the
darkness, he found himself on a dirt floor as the door was slammed shut behind
him. A lock was turned, but then
there was a sound of something very heavy being drug across the floor and placed
in front of the thick wooden door. He
stood and pressed his face against the small opening.
Even his vampire eyes had trouble seeing in the black of the hallway but
he could tell the walls were stone and he knew no amount of powers that he had
would break through that. He
watched as Joshua and Balthazar groaned, pushing another block of stone between
the door of the cell and the wall of the hallway.
He was well and truly trapped there.
He felt blood running from his nose, down his lip and he licked it away
before it reached his chin. No use
wasting it, as he probably wouldn’t feed again for a very long time, if ever,
he thought.
Balthazar leaned across the stone to look at Taylor through the iron bars
of the small square opening, “Now then, you take a little nap, and we’ll be
back to talk to you in seven or eight hours.
I hope you’re not frightened of insects and such, I’ve seen some
whoppers down here.”
“Good! At least I won’t
starve then!” Taylor shouted back
at him, though it made his head throb to do it.
Balthazar chuckled, “Watching old horror movies again?”
He shook his head, “I don’t believe our six and eight legged friends
have the right sort of blood to keep you alive, but go ahead and try.
It’ll keep your mind off your situation.”
“Good night, sweet prince.” Joshua
mocked, and they turned and went back down the hallway, leaving Taylor alone in
his prison.
~~~~~
Beatriz pulled her car into the small garage area under the building she
lived in. She rolled the window
down a crack and listened, and smelled the air.
Sensing another vampire, she looked around and saw Kirk move out of the
shadows and walk toward her. With a
sigh of relief, she stepped out of the car.
“Is there anyone else around? I
know it won’t be long ‘til we get company down here.”
She said, softly. She
stepped around to the back of the car and opened the trunk.
“As far as I know, it’s just you and me.”
He said, his voice barely above a whisper.
He looked into the trunk where two rugs and three, thick black garbage
bags all lay, squashed together in a heap.
He looked at her, “How many?”
He asked, silently.
“Four.”
She answered.
He smiled and nodded his head, then pulled the heavy rugs out, throwing
them over his shoulders. Beatriz
grabbed the bags and one by one set them on the concrete floor.
Without a word, she closed the trunk and they made their way swiftly to
the door, locking it behind them. Beatriz
sat the bags down, and placed a heavy metal bar across the door, then she picked
them back up again and rushed to catch up with Kirk.
He stood, holding a door open for her.
“I’ve got ‘em from here.” He
said. “They’re waiting for you
up there. I’ll be right up as
soon as we get a little heat going in here.”
He said with a grin.
“Thank you, Kirk.” She
said, brushing off her pants. “But,
I’ll wait for you here. I don’t
want anyone going anywhere alone.”
“Whatever you say…” He
agreed, and he stepped over to a large furnace and turned on the gas and then
ignited it. Orange and blue flames
leapt up and he stepped back and picked up one of the rugs and tossed it in.
The second rug followed it and then each of the three bags.
When it became obvious that they would all burn, he closed the door and
latched it. “Alright, I’ll come
back in an hour or so and we should be in nice shape.”
He said, wiping his hands on his pants.
They rode up to the Penthouse and were met by Mr. Jones.
He looked at his watch, “You were cutting it close, Madame.”
He scolded.
“Yes, well, for good reason. Are they here?”
She asked.
“There is a group of your kind waiting for you on the floor below us.
I’ve made certain that everyone has a room and a bed for tonight.”
He said. He handed her clean
clothes, “I thought you may be needing these.
Am I to be privy to this…meeting?”
He asked.
“Only if you want to be Jonas.”
She answered, taking the pants and sweater from his arms.
“I don’t know how this thing will turn out.
If you’d like to take your leave, I’ll understand.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, “What do I get if you win?”
He asked.
“Anything your heart desires.” She
smiled.
“That is hard to turn down.” He
answered. “I believe, as long as
I do not have to take part in hand to hand combat with angry old vampires, that
I would prefer to stay here.” He
leaned in and whispered, “I don’t feel very safe going out, to tell you the
truth. We’ve had a message or two
this evening. They want you to call
them.”
“I’m sure.” She said,
stepping down the hall and into her room.
When she returned, she wore a simple pair of black pants and a black,
cashmere sweater. Around her neck,
Taylor’s pendant, it’s knotted chain standing out against the perfection of
her brown skin and the expensive sweater.
Kirk and Mr. Jones watched as she picked up the phone.
“What is going on?!”
She said, as soon as they answered.
She didn’t think they’d believe her to be innocent, but she thought
it would be worth a try, and at the very least, it would irritate them.
On the other end of the phone, Daniel spoke, “I don’t know, I was
hoping you could tell me.”
He answered.
“All I know is I’m so thankful my Mr. Jones is standing here beside
me.” She said, glancing over at
him.
“Can you hold please, Nicholai would like to speak to you.”
“Of course, as long as he’s quick.
I’m very busy, you know.” She
said back.
He chuckled, “Yes, I’m sure you are.”
A moment later, she heard Nicholai’s voice.
“Have you forgotten that we have your snot nosed little brat here?
I’m tempted to send him back to you in pieces.
I could save your favorite part for last.”
Beatriz closed her eyes for a moment, willing herself to keep the edge
out of her voice. “I’d assumed
I wasn’t getting him back. Parts
like his aren’t that hard to
find.”
“So you’re saying you don’t care if I end the life of your
lover?” He said back, his voice
smooth.
“I’d care because I am fond of him.
He is a beautiful creature. But
it would not affect my life, or my actions.”
She said as a tear ran down her cheek.
She quickly bent down and reached for the rosary from her bag, the knife,
falling to the marble floor with a clatter, leaving tiny drops of blood to mar
its gleaming surface.
“And what have your actions been these two days?”
Nicholai spat.
She silently kissed the silver cross and it’s image of Christ, his body
torn and dying. “I have had some
business to attend to. Financial
things just take so much out of me.” She
said.
“You listen to me, you bitch. We
shall wipe out every last one of you from this city.
I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but Taylor won’t be the
only one to pay for it. You’ve
sealed not only his doom, but your own. If
you want this to end now, I’m giving you one chance.
You and your little helpers come here and beg for our forgiveness and
we’ll end your lives quickly and painlessly.
If you decide not to, then we’ll see how long a vampire can survive on
the rack before begging for a mercy that is not coming.”
He threatened.
“Taylor has already paid a great deal, I believe.
It sickens me to think that the men that I have served for so long have
to resort to threatening a young, innocent boy.
Have your powers dwindled so much over the years?”
She asked.
Nicholai laughed, “I guess we shall find out, won’t we, Lady?!” And the line
went dead.
At once, she went into a diatribe in Spanish that Kirk and Mr. Jones both
had a very hard time following. Then,
it stopped and she looked down at the crucifix and said some words softly,
kissing it again. “Taylor” was the one word they both understood.
She then looked up at Mr. Jones, “Every lock on every door, every
window—make certain they are locked. The
doors at street level, make certain—pull the drapes and the security doors.”
“It’s been done.” He
said.
“Every back way? Every
secret way?” She asked.
“As long as I know about it, it is done.
If you have ways that I don’t know of, then you’d need to see to
that.” He answered.
She nodded. “I believe you
know them all.” She said.
She took in a deep breath and looked at the two men before her, “Are we
ready then?”
Both nodded solemnly and they followed her down the stairs.
As they stepped into a large room, the talk ceased.
Before them were the group that had come together, hoping to defeat the
Elders. Beatriz still wasn’t
certain what some of them hoped to get out of the struggle, but whatever it was,
she’d do her best to give it to them. For
some, it may have been as simple as a rebellious nature and boredom.
Well, they’d get their reward very quickly, she thought.
“Good evening.” She
said to them. “We are in a hurry
tonight.” She looked from one to
the other. “This is war.
They know what we’ve done.” She
smiled, “We’ve taken out a large number of their servants.
We’ve eliminated most of their assassins.
However, that does not mean that they are helpless.
The plan, as you know, was to have Taylor and I easily taking out those
old fucks.” She shook her head,
“The problem is, this plan was to have been put into effect in a matter of
years, not hours. Taylor is out of
the equation now—the most I can hope for is that they won’t kill him.”
There were murmurs now. “I’ve
tried to make light of his importance to me and to you, but I don’t know that
they believe me. They know we’ve
hit them and there is no doubt they will hit back.
No one is to go anywhere alone—I want pairs of male and female.
She will sense what is coming and he will combat it.
When we run out of males, we’ll need the young females to pair off with
the older females.
Kill anyone who crosses you.
Trust no one. If we are to
win this, it must be soon. The
longer we wait, the longer they have to plan and to call in help. She held up
the tattered piece of paper she’d held the night before, “This list of our
enemies is very small now. This
evening, six more have fallen. She
smiled, “I killed four, and our wicked threesome took out two more.
We know that we don’t know all of them, but this was a blow to them.
Now, Sonya is going to tell you what we need to do…”
~~~~~
For two hours, Taylor slept. It
was early for him to rise anyway, but add the blow he’d taken to his head and
his body just didn’t have it in him to fight it.
Blood continued to trickle down his lip, pooling in the dirt under his
cheek. When he awoke finally, he
wiped it on his torn shirt causing him to look even worse than he felt.
He sat up, his chin on his knees, thinking about what to do.
His ears took in every sound, every flutter of a creature’s wings or
tiny scratch of legs clinging to stone. They
had actually left him alone down here. He
wondered if they’d leave him for years to starve and go crazy, or if they were
merely trying to frighten him into cooperating with them.
He wondered what Beatriz was doing.
Had she written him off as dead? Or
had she replaced him already, as they’d told him she would?
Perhaps Melanie and Camille would blow the walls away with a
stick of dynamite and they could run home together, stopping in the park for a
bite before heading up to the Penthouse to watch The Simpsons together…his
mind wandered. Eventually he stood,
his head swam in the darkness, but soon, his mind and his eyes adjusted and he
made his way toward the tiny square of light in the heavy old door.
It wasn’t actually light, it was just not the pitch black darkness of
the stone cell he was in.
He reached out and ran his fingers over the stone block that
had been pushed in front of the door. It
was heavy. As heavy as anything
he’d ever seen for its size. He
sighed and pulled his arm back in, grimacing as he scraped his skin on the iron
bars. His body would most
definitely not fit through that, even if the bars were gone, he thought.
Stepping back, he sensed more than saw, the hinges on the old
door. He put his hand out and he
heard the grit of old dust as the pin moved in the holes.
It took a few tries, but he smiled when he heard it fall to
the dusty floor. The second was
easier; he’d had practice now. The
lock was simple, with a click, it was no longer keeping the door sealed.
The large stone in front of it, however, was a different story.
Try as he might, all he managed to do was give himself another headache.
He sniffed as blood ran anew from his nose and he wiped his
arm across it, smearing blood on the sleeve of his shirt.
He began to pace, his mind racing.
He tried to think back to every lesson he’d ever had from
Sonya, Beatriz and Robert. Which
led him to think of their eyes and their lips and the fact that he thought
they’d loved him, well, maybe not Robert...
He then thought of his family and a salty tear joined the blood as he
licked his lips. As the time
passed, he was finding himself feeling again like a caged animal.
The cell was small and his long legs crossed it in just a few
steps. He knew he should probably
conserve his strength, but the panic that was rising in him was too much to
bear. He didn’t know what it was, but something was definitely happening.
He was beginning to hear voices; too many to pick out their message, so
he tuned them all out.
If he sat down again, he was afraid he’d just have some sort
of breakdown, at least pacing gave him something to do…
~~~~~
Sonya hoped the alley
she’d parked her car in gave them enough shelter from the prying eyes of
police and others who could possibly be patrolling the neighborhood.
She carried weapons for those who wanted them.
They couldn’t all drive, as many didn’t own cars, but it
would be important that they have the means to fight anyone who might go against
them. She looked over at Camille.
The girl just gazed out the window, her thoughts shaded.
“Did you get something to use?”
She asked her. “You’re
gonna need to be able to cut off a head, you know.
We’re not messing around tonight.”
The girl’s blue eyes slid over to her and she reached in the backseat
and pulled out a long, shimmering blade. “Some
of these things are just too big for me.”
She said, running her finger along the sharp edge.
“This one looks about right.” She
held up a short sword.
“Yes, it does.” Sonya
agreed. She turned her head,
“We’ve got company…”
“Hey, ladies.” Two men
approached the car. Sonya looked at
Camille, “Not vampires.”
She sent.
“Awesome.” Camille
smiled, her fangs glinting in the light of the dash.
~~~~~
Kirk and Melanie walked quickly toward the neighborhood where the Elders
lived. The buildings were older and
people were out on the street watching their neighbors’ antics.
There were young people in cars and old people sitting on the
stoops of their homes. Fall weather was settling in and the normally teaming
streets were actually quiet compared to the usual.
Neither had spoken as both were using all their faculties to
be certain they weren’t being stalked. Finally,
Melanie broke their silence, “Should we feed?
We may need all the strength we can get.”
She looked around her, looking for a safe and secluded spot.
“That’s probably a good idea. Nothin’
fancy—just a filler-up kinda thing…”
He said. “How about
we take a little walk around the side of that building over there?
I think I remember there being a place where a couple girls live.
Might be scary for the humans, but I think we can handle’em…”
His feet veered from the sidewalk and they crossed the street as the
residents kept a watchful eye on them.
~~~~~
Beatriz pulled her car up behind Sonya’s.
She got out and glanced at the bodies of two men lying against the
crumbling brick wall as she opened the passenger side, taking out a small but
formidable looking bow and a handful of primitive looking arrows.
Sonya stepped up beside her. “Um,
I’m afraid you’ve been watching too much tv.”
She said.
Beatriz raised an eyebrow, “Actually,
the trend in Hollywood seems to be a crossbow, which unfortunately, is hell on a
wooden arrow.” She held one
up and touched her finger to the pointed end, then shrugged her shoulders.
“This will certainly get one’s
attention, though. And perhaps
that’s all we need to move in and remove their heads from their shoulders.”
Her dark eyes met Sonya’s, their golden hue shining out under the
streetlamp, “Besides, I should only need
it until I can get inside. But,
I’m not sure exactly how hard that is going to be.”
“Well,”
Sonya retorted, “it seems that
things are locked up rather tightly at the moment.
At eleven o’clock, they generally have a changing of the
guard, more or less, and that is in…”
She looked at her watch, “nine
minutes.”
Looking around her, and listening for the brain activity, and heartbeats
of those in the area, Beatriz paused, then turned to Camille as she walked up.
“I don’t sense any humans
here.” She said.
Camille shook her head, “I think
we’re pretty much the only living things around here.”
She smiled, “Melanie says the
humans seem to know something’s up. Very
quiet in the hood right now.”
“And the vampires all belong to
us?” Beatriz asked, looking
at the old fire escape in front of her.
Sonya cocked her head, “I
wouldn’t be too sure about that. Just
because they came when we called them doesn’t mean they aren’t actually
working for the other side.”
“Well, I guess that’s the
chance we take.” Beatriz
answered, putting the bow over her shoulder and placing the handful of arrows in
her belt. She then jumped up,
grasping the bottom rung of the rusty ladder and pulled herself up.
“Keep your eyes and ears open.”
She said to them, “And
kill anything or anyone that you are unsure of.”
As she stepped onto the roof, she saw Kirk already sitting there,
watching the building as if it might grow legs and walk away.
“What have you
seen?” She asked.
He shook his head, still not averting his eyes, “They
know something’s up.”
“They’d better. Even
they aren’t that unaware.” Beatriz
answered. She watched for a few
moments, then turned to him, “So, no one
has come or gone from here?”
“Nope.
Not a soul.” He
answered.
“Hmmm…I find that a bit
worrisome.” She mused.
“Where is Melanie?”
She asked.
He gestured behind him. “She’s watching our back.”
“Very good.” She
said and they sat then, for the next twenty minutes, only receiving the
occasional update from someone. She’d
heard from Julie that her partner Ben had ended the life of what they believed
to be an assassin to the Elders. He
was proud to have only lost a pinky and ring finger in the fight.
The weird sisters had let her know things were strangely quiet wherever
they’d gone, giving Beatriz more to worry about.
At 11:47 Melanie reported a large, black car coming up the street; either
a lost visitor to the neighborhood or someone doing business with the Elders.
Beatriz crept over to the edge of the building to see it coming.
She alerted Sonya and Camille below her and Lisa and Cassandra who were
perched upon the building in front of her.
It felt like humans, but some of those who worked for the elders were
good at covering their true selves. She
carefully aimed her bow at the car, ready to strike whoever got out.
As the door opened, her brow furrowed; these were people she
wasn’t familiar with. They’d
parked with the rear of the car toward the building.
She heard Sonya’s voice, “What
is this? Lauren and Emil are close,
do you want them taken?”
Beatriz strained to try and get a hold of what was happening.
Something wasn’t right, but she couldn’t put her finger
on it. Camille’s voice alerted
her that a cellar door was opening. They
watched as the trunk of the car popped open.
“Oh, no…” Sonya
gasped. Camille looked over at her,
“What is it?”
Kirk watched as Beatriz lowered the bow, her face taken by an odd
expression, suddenly. “What’s wrong?” He
asked.
She sighed, “Well, either the best, or the worst thing has
happened...” She said aloud.
“Do you want us to get those
people?!” Lauren sent from
where she hid. She couldn’t
believe Beatriz wasn’t killing these people before they did whatever it was
they were doing.
Beatriz paused for a moment, “No.
Let them go.”
She answered. Kirk
looked at her, wondering what she was doing.
He looked over to see Sonya come up onto the roof.
“I can’t believe them.” Sonya
said, her eyes glassy.
Beatriz shook her head, “It’s perfect.
I can’t believe it took them this long.”
She said, watching as one of the men stepped to the back of the car.
“Those fuckers…” Kirk
said, leaning up to see better.
Beatriz stooped closer to him, “They’re of no use to them dead.
You know this.
While I don’t like to think of them in there, they will be
safer inside.” She sighed, “At
least for a while.” She looked
back at Sonya, “I just don’t know how he’ll react...”
She said, softly.
~~~~~
“Good evening, Taylor.” Balthazar
spoke, peering into the dark cell. “Nicholai
asks that you help us fight your friends. They
seem to be of the opinion they can defeat us or something.”
He sighed and looked at his fingernails, “The females can be so tricky,
you know. So, he’d like you to
shield us from those little psychic jabs they’re so fond of.”
Taylor furrowed his brow. He’d
finally ceased his pacing and had stooped down in his cell, rocking on his feet.
“Fuck you.” He said.
His head was teeming with voices that he hadn’t bothered to sort out
and it was making his already aching head buzz like a radio not quite tuned to
the station.
Victor came forward, “You may change your mind…”
He said, and he tossed something into the cell.
At once, Taylor’s whole being was focused on the mass of blonde hair
lying on the dusty floor, tied together with a thick rubber band.
He picked it up and put it to his nose.
The smell of blood and his little brother overpowered everything else in
his mind. He stood up and walked
toward the tiny window in the door, looking at the smiling faces of his enemies.
“Where is he? What did you
do?” He asked.
He centered his mind to one thing: the location of Zac.
The other voices settled into a low hum now as he searched.
“He’s safe.” Balthazar
said airily. “Um, you have some
blood on your lip, perhaps you’d like to wipe it off?”
He said, and he pushed a soft old piece of fabric through the opening.
Taylor shut his eyes as the smell and feel of his little sister came at
him. He pulled the worn blanket up
to his face and brushed it over his cheek.
Tears came to his eyes, but he didn’t cry.
He looked at the two, his blue eyes icing into a greenish hue in the tiny
amount of light coming from the hallway, “You bring them here to me.
Let me see them, and I’ll help you.”
Victor furrowed his brow, “Your powers of persuasion are excellent!”
He said. “That would have
worked on a younger vampire, and of course on any human.
Perhaps you are as valuable as they say…”
“If I don’t see them, I don’t help.
You may have killed them already. There’s
blood here.” Taylor replied,
holding up Zac’s hair. Inside he
felt he was dying. But he knew he
couldn’t help his siblings if he lost his head, so he did his best to play
along.
Balthazar cocked his head to the side, “You see, that’s the problem;
I don’t think you want to help anyway. And
I’m sure the only way we’ll get you to do it is if we keep that little boy
and girl nice and safe and hidden.” He
raised an eyebrow, “Of course, I’m not certain how safe they are.
Joshua is dealing with them now. I
don’t think the stocks will work with the little girl, her hands are too
small, but for your brother, they should do just fine.”
At once, dust began to fall from the ceiling and soon mortar and stone
began to crumble as Taylor thrust himself at the door.
The square blocks that made up the room and the hallway began
to vibrate and loosen from where they’d been placed by masons close to a
century before. Both men were
surprised as the wood of the door splintered and cracked and they both backed
up. But, they didn’t get far.
Victor watched as Balthazar was suddenly pressed up against the stone
wall as the block in front of the door moved towards him.
He would have run, but the few moments he took to decide cost him.
He felt himself pushed to the floor as pain erupted in his brain.
Both men were physically superior to Taylor, but they hadn’t expected
him to attack the way he had. Still
trying to get through the door, Taylor shoved with his mind as well as his
hands. All coherent thought had
left him as rage replaced logic. The
thought of his brother being in that room with all those torturous things was
sickening to him and Avery being anywhere near Joshua was too much for him to
take.
The top of the door toppled over the stone block as it broke
under his hands. He barely fit, but
he was able to slither out between the top of the doorway and the block.
With all his strength, he pushed the stone, causing it to tip and allow
him to push it over where it pinned Balthazar for good.
He wouldn’t recall later how it all happened, but he came down on the
other side and picked up one of the smaller blocks that had fallen from the
walls. He smashed it into
Victor’s skull, not flinching as blood and brains splattered on his hands and
his legs. He ran to the room he
knew contained weapons. A large old rusty saw lay there on the table and he
picked it up knowing the dark stains on it were blood and not the sap of a tree.
Joshua had explained that one could be turned upside down and slowly
sawed in two between the legs; it was a quick death, but some could be made to
confess things in the short time they had.
When he came back, both men were still breathing, even Victor, though his
face was so damaged, he was hardly recognizable.
With one swing of the antique blade, his head was cut from his body and
Taylor kicked at it with his foot to make sure head and neck had plenty of space
between them. Balthazar had pushed
the stone away, but blood ran from his nose and Taylor didn’t give him a
chance to recover as he did the same to him, smiling as the head rolled off his
shoulder and onto the ground. He
watched blood flow freely from the stump of his neck and he wondered if he
should take a drink before the body died. He
jerked the man’s wrist away from his side and bit down on it and drank for a
moment. It didn’t taste warm and
electric like Beatriz’ but it was still alive and he could feel it’s power
run down his throat. He dropped it
and gazed back at Victor and his now mushy visage.
He shook his head, wiped his mouth, then ran down the hallway to the open
room where the Elders had tortured and beaten him and countless others over the
years.
“AVERY!”
He called, “Where are you?!
Concentrate—let me know where you are!”
He rushed into the room, knowing she and Zac weren’t there, but
hoping all the same. If they’d
been that close, he’d have known it before his captors had thrown pieces of
them at him. He threw his hands out
and the old, darkened wood and metal pieces were strewn about the room.
The rack slammed against the rock wall and he hit it again with his mind
and it splintered, unable to torture anyone again.
His wrath had nearly blinded him as his vision seemed to blur at the
edges. In his mind though, he was
feeling his sister. He reached out,
trying to find his brother as well; he needed to know if they were
together—but Zac’s mind wasn’t there for him.
For a moment, he closed his eyes, praying they hadn’t taken him
someplace far away. He knew Avery
was close. He sent out the same
message to her, over and over as he walked the dark halls of the basement.
He came to the stairs and he didn’t hesitate.
If Nicholai were waiting at the top of the stairs, so be it.
He’d kill him just as he’d killed the other two…
~~~~~
Avery was scared. She was as
scared as she’d been when she’d seen Sonya killing her brother.
She pulled Zac’s arm closer around her, praying he’d be alright.
But when the man had thrown him into the wall of the shower in their
house, blood had run down the white tile. The
man had turned on the water and washed it away.
No one in her family would see it and wonder what had happened, she
thought. “Zac?”
She said into the darkness. He
didn’t answer, but she could feel him breathing and his skin was warm against
hers. At least he wasn’t dead,
she thought. She wondered how long
they’d been in the trunk of the car; it had felt like forever, but now,
trapped in this tiny room and being watched by a scary man made her wish she
were back there. She sat up and
turned to touch the back of his head. She
felt stupid for crying when they’d cut his hair, but the sadness had turned to
fear when she saw how much blood was there.
It was worse than something that a few stitches would fix, she knew it.
She drew her hand back and her tears started anew when she
saw the fresh blood on it. Please,
wake up, she prayed. Please…
~~~~~
“He knows…” Beatriz
said, sitting up straight. She
looked at Sonya and drew in a breath, “This is it.”
She said. “Either we win
this thing tonight, or we die. You
find those children and you save them no matter what it takes.”
“I’ll do everything in my power.”
Sonya said. “I can’t feel Zac.” She
said. “But I’m certain it was him.”
Beatriz
shook her head. “It worries me.”
“Let’s
hope Avery can send out those little vibes tonight like she used to.”
Sonya said. “Taylor is
going to go postal.”
“I
think he already has.” Beatriz
said.
“I’m sure you felt it.”
Sonya
nodded. “I did.
I just hope he can control it.”
“We
hadn’t exactly gotten that far, had we?”
Beatriz said
Melanie
stepped up to them, “What’s going on? Are
we going in or what? This waiting
crap is driving me crazy.”
“We’re
going now.” Beatriz assured her.
“We need to call out to our allies here.
I’m going to tell them to kill anyone in there that’s not Taylor or
his family.”
She paused, “You know we will lose some, don’t you?”
She said to the girl.
Melanie
crossed her arms over her chest, “Oh well, at least we won’t go quietly.”
She said.
Beatriz
smiled, “No, we’ll not do that.” She
said, and then she turned her mind to the sky and the minds of those who waited
for her call
