Extreme Medical Services Box Set Vol 4--6

by Jamie Davis

  “And you think this is what Artur is using to raise and control the dead here in Elk City? How can you be sure and how did he get ahold of it?”

  Jaz went back to her computer and scrolled down. “The final account of the finger being used is sometime in the eighteen fifties around Constantinople to control local attacks by newly turned vampires plaguing the area. Then it disappears from the record. Only one passage remains. That account says it was stolen from an ancient Christian church outside the city. No one’s heard of it since, until now. I double-checked with my family journals. That was just before we came to the Americas. Our family was called to the region to help with the rise of the new vampires there. We confirmed that Artur was behind those attacks, too. He was there, in the region, when the finger went missing from the church. This has to be what’s causing the trouble here. It has to be.”

  Dean looked at the screen and again at the translated journal passage in his hand. A thought occurred to him.

  “Jaz, your ancestor said it could raise and control the recent dead. But earlier accounts you just read also claimed it could control all undead. Does that mean vampires and others like them?”

  Jaz nodded. “But, I think it would have to be a relatively young vampire. Older vampires are extremely powerful and can resist most mind control after a few centuries as undead. I would think James is in little danger directly from this relic’s powers.”

  “What about Brynne or another young vampire?” Dean asked.

  “Oh,” Jaz replied. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “We have to get over there right away.”

  Chapter 12

  Brynne was tired and frustrated. She was overcome with grief over the possibility that she’d killed the humans found outside the building. But she was never the type to give up on something she wanted. She’d been like that when she was a human and she wasn’t going to let that change as a vampire. Despite the setbacks and the period when she blacked out the week before, she was determined to get back on track with her work on overcoming her bloodlust. She had to find a way around this. She wasn’t going to be a monster for the rest of her long undead life.

  So, after she recovered from the blackout, Brynne resolved to make up for her lapse and the people she had killed. She contacted Celeste and soon found herself back in the clean room with the redhead. They started from scratch. Celeste had insisted they return to the very beginning of the process to see if any ground had been lost in their limited progress when Brynne had blacked, recovering in the basement of the building. Brynne started by taking a sip of warm blood but not swallowing it. She held the warm and delicious fluid in her mouth for a count of ten then turned and spat it out into the bucket next to her chair. It was a disgusting exercise, not only because of the cleanup but also because it was a waste of good blood. She didn’t know who had to clean up the mess. Brynne hoped James was paying them enough.

  She could resist drinking in this situation, though Brynne understood the need for the process. She could remember a time when she would have gulped the entire mug of life-giving fluid down without hesitation and begged Celeste for more.

  “Good, Brynne, honey,” the Celeste said. She used an insulated coffee carafe and added more blood to her mug. “Now, I want you to drink some of the blood, but stop before you finish all of the blood in the mug, understood?”

  Brynne nodded and picked up the mug staring into the dark crimson depths of the blood before she brought it to her lips. Then she felt every muscle in her body freeze. She stopped there, without taking a drink. Brynne sat frozen in that position. She didn’t understand what was happening, but she couldn’t move. It was as if she was paralyzed in that position. She couldn’t drink the blood or put the cup down.

  “Go ahead, Brynne,” Celeste said. “You may drink. Just don’t finish all the blood. Let’s see if you can stop yourself.”

  Brynne tried to move her hand, to blink, to do something but she’d lost all control over her body.

  Celeste’s expression changed to one of concern. “Brynne, what’s wrong? Put the cup down and talk to me. What’s happening?”

  Celeste came around the table to stand next to Brynne and laid a hand on her shoulder, leaning over her. To Brynne’s horror, her arm moved raising the white ceramic mug high and smashing it against Celeste’s temple. The other vampire’s eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed to the floor next to the chair. Brynne, an unwilling passenger within her own body, watched as she stood up and looked down at her unconscious friend. Then she felt a tugging on her whole being and even control over her thoughts was taken away from her. The last thing she remembered before it all went black was watching her hand reach for the doorknob that would lead her out of the room.

  Dean and Jaz had taken one of the Errington black SUVs and raced over to the Nightwing Building. Dean had called James. He was out of town on a business trip and said that Celeste was watching Brynne. The vampire lord told Dean he and Rudy were hurrying back but wouldn’t be able to get back until close to dawn. Dean’s next call was to Celeste, but there was no answer on her phone at all. Brynne didn’t answer his calls either.

  Jaz had a police light bar mounted on her dash, and she switched it on. She used the lights to blow through traffic as she wound her way through the few cars on the road this late downtown. It wasn’t long before she was pulling down the ramp of the Nightwing Building’s underground garage. Dean jumped out before Jaz had even come to a complete stop. She yelled at him to slow down as she raced after him. The elevator doors opened just as she caught up to him. He noticed she had grabbed her katana from the car. She settled the scabbard across her back as she stepped into the elevator and stood next to him.

  “You’re not using that to hurt Brynne, Jaz,” Dean warned.

  “Only a fool goes into a building unarmed with potentially out of control vampires on the loose,” Jaz replied. “Besides, it’s a precaution only. I’m sure there’s nothing wrong. It’s probably just a cell tower problem.”

  Dean wished it were that simple a solution. He looked at the phone in his hand. The bars were full on his screen: not a cell phone problem.

  The elevator stopped on the first floor even though Dean had pushed the button and used his keycard to access the Penthouse level. When he tried the button again, nothing happened. He decided they’d have to take the stairs. He stepped off the elevator and was met by one of James’ security guards. He was a human but one who knew his boss’ true nature.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Flynn but there’s a problem on the sixth floor, and I’ve been instructed to lock down access to the upper floors for the time being.”

  “The sixth floor?” Dean asked.

  The guard nodded.

  “What’s on the sixth floor?” Jaz asked them both.

  “It’s the private apartments for the human employees who work for James,” Dean replied. “I used to have a place up there for a while.” He turned to the guard. “You know who I am, right?”

  “Yes, sir. But I have my orders,” the guard responded. “If anyone gets hurt because I disobeyed them, I’ll lose my job.”

  “Unless I’m wrong, and I hope I’m not,” Dean said. “People are already getting hurt. You have to let us up there. Losing a job will be the least of our worries. Unlock the elevators for us to go up and then call 911 and request an ambulance from Station U. Understand?”

  The guard pondered the request for a moment and then turned and went over to his console behind the counter. He tapped a few buttons there and looked back to where Dean and Jaz stood.

  “You’re cleared in elevator two up to six. I’ll call the ambulance, but you better tell Mr. Lee you made me do this.”

  “Don’t worry; I’ll back you up.” Dean didn’t finish the statement with the thought, ‘if I survive’.

  As they went back over to the bank of elevators, Jaz led the way. She poked the up button and stepped on the elevator that opened. Dean followed her on, staring at the hilt of her sw
ord jutting up over her shoulder.

  “You’re not going to kill her. I can talk her back from this, Jaz. I know I can,” he said as the doors slid shut.

  “It’s not my first choice of action, Dean, but I’m not letting her kill you either. If it comes down to it, I’ll defend us.”

  Dean opened his mouth to say something then closed it. Nothing he said was going to change anything at this point. Jaz was a hunter. This was more in her wheelhouse than his. He just hoped they weren’t right about Brynne. He watched the lighted numbers over the door tick up to six and the elevator car lurched to a stop. Jaz extended an arm to push him back from the door so an attack wouldn’t catch him unawares as it opened.

  The first body lay outside the door to the elevator, the woman’s hand extended as if she were trying to reach for the button on the panel by the elevator doors. Dean didn’t think there was any hope, but he checked her for pulses anyway. Her throat had been ripped open. The poor girl must have bled out pretty quickly. She didn’t look familiar, but he didn’t know all of James’ employees even though he had lived here for a few months before.

  The scream from down the hall and around the corner jerked him back to awareness at the moment. Jaz had taken up a position between him and the other end of the hallway. The scream cut off as quickly as it began, ending in a sad, gurgling cry. Dean stood and started rushing down the hall. Jaz stopped him with an arm extended outward, barring his path. He pushed against it and was surprised by her strength.

  Jaz looked his way with a brief, steely-eyed glance.

  “I’ll take the lead. You stay behind me.”

  He started to protest but quickly gave in. With a nod, he stepped back. Jaz gave him a grim smile and started forward. She had one hand inside her jacket, probably on the grip of her pistol in its shoulder holster rig. The other hand was cocked back over her shoulder, fingers just brushing the hilt of her katana. She advanced in a crouch to the corner and peeked around the corner before pulling back.

  “It’s Brynne,” she said in a bare whisper. “She’s feeding. Let me take the lead, okay?”

  Dean wanted to leap around the corner but stopped himself. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, to stop himself from running forward. He knew a rash action here could spell catastrophe, though. His first responder training served him well. Never rush in without the proper training. Wait for back up and the proper resources. Jaz was the one with the experience here. He had to trust her. He nodded.

  “Stop her, Jaz. But please, do not kill her.”

  The hunter didn’t answer she reached out and laid a reassuring hand on his forearm before turning back to the corner. She stood up straight and stepped around the corner while she reached back inside her leather jacket for whatever she’d had ahold of before. Dean couldn’t see what she pulled out because she walked forward and he lost sight of her for a moment before he followed.

  Dean stood from his crouch and bolted around the corner behind Jaz. There were two more bodies here. One was crumpled on the carpet just around the corner. The other was two doors down. Brynne crouched over the second body, a blond-haired woman in yoga pants and a tank top.

  His former paramedic partner, now in full vampire mode, looked up at their approach and bared her fangs at them, the fresh blood of her latest victim dripping from them to run down her chin and onto her chest. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and it almost seemed the irises of her eyes glowed even in the bright light of the fluorescent lighting above them.

  Their first warning of the attack was a low guttural growl from deep in Brynne’s throat. She launched herself at Jaz from twenty feet away, and Dean was taken aback by her ferocity and speed. He saw death moving in the form of a true apex predator. He was sure he and Jaz were both doomed.

  His surprise at the outcome was reflected in the look on Brynne’s face when she jerked to a stop in mid-air about five feet from him and Jaz as if she ran into a wall. She dropped to the floor and crouched there snarling at them while she turned as if to shield herself from something. Dean took a step to the side and saw what it was.

  Jaz stood in the center of the hall in front of him, her arm extended in front of her holding a large silver cross. The boldly presented holy symbol was holding the rampaging vampire at bay, though she seemed to struggle against an invisible barrier, still trying to reach them.

  Dean called to Brynne past Jaz, stepping forward a bit so she could see him.

  “Brynne, you have to stop this. You aren’t in control of yourself. It’s Artur. He’s controlling you through some sort of magic relic.”

  She hissed at him and Jaz and renewed her efforts to push past the barrier to get to them.

  “I have to feed. I’ve been holding back for too long. I need to exert my true power and take what I want.” Brynne’s expression was horrifying to Dean. He knew her to be a compassionate and caring healer. This monster standing in front of him was not that woman. This was something else entirely.

  “You know you can feed without killing, Brynne. Stop this and let me pass so I can help those people you’ve injured.” He could see the feebly struggling blonde behind Brynne trying to crawl away down the hallway.

  The motion was not lost on Brynne’s enhanced senses. As if she could sense her food source moving away, Dean watched her turn away from the barrier she couldn’t pass through to reach the meal she could have. He lurched forward to stop her and in that instant realized his mistake. As he stepped in front of the holy symbol held by Jaz, the only thing keeping Brynne at bay, the barrier holding her back came down.

  With a howl of feral joy, Brynne hurtled past him, her arm throwing him into the wall with enough force to knock the wind out of him. He saw her bowl over Jaz, sending the silver cross flying to the floor. The two women rolled over and over as he fought to regain his breath and stand.

  Dean watched as Brynne rolled on top of Jaz and bared her fangs to sink them into Jaz’s exposed neck and shoulder. He thought Jaz was done for, but he should have known better than that. She drove her head up and forward, delivering a brutal head butt to Brynne’s face that appeared to stun both of them for a moment. Dean pushed himself to his feet, still having to steady himself against the wall with one arm. This was his only chance to get the stronger vampire off of the hunter before she was killed. He didn’t know what he could do, but he had to try. He reached out with one unsteady hand and tried to grab at the back of Brynne’s shirt at the neckline.

  Something deep inside whispered for him to utter a prayer as he reached for her. His fingers brushed against Brynne’s skin as he tried to grab her shirt to pull her backward. In that instant, he felt a surge of strength and his vision gained a strange clarity as if he could see colors he’d never been able to discern before. Instead of grabbing the shirt, his fingers clamped on the back of Brynne’s neck, and he pulled upward.

  The raging vampire stopped struggling and sat upright staring straight ahead with vacant eyes for a moment. In that instant, Dean could see through her, through the control link to Artur on the other side. He pushed hard against the other’s mind he found there and discovered to his surprise a sense of fear resonating back down the link between Brynne and the ancient vampire. Whatever Dean was doing, it scared Artur. The ancient vampire lord shouted something in anger Dean couldn’t understand and released his mental hold on Brynne, leaving Dean in his place.

  Dean felt his control over Brynne superseding the other vampires. He sent a command to stand, and Brynne got up off of Jaz, standing and staring off with the vacant stare she’d had since he touched her. He didn’t know what to do next. He was afraid to let go of her for fear she’d fall back under Artur’s control.

  Jaz rolled to her feet. She was bleeding from a deep cut on her forehead where she’d split the thin skin in her attack against Brynne. Wiping the blood from where it trickled down into her eyes, Jaz retrieved the silver cross from the floor and held it ready. Another voice sounded down the hallway.

  “Dean, wh
at are you doing?”

  The voice was Celeste’s. She had stepped unseen from the stairwell door behind him. She startled him, but he didn’t let go of Brynne. He was afraid to stop.

  “I can’t let go. Somehow, don’t ask me how, I’m controlling Brynne after Artur let go. I’m afraid to release her. What if she doesn’t revert to her normal self?”

  “Artur was controlling her?” Celeste asked. She shook her head. “Well, that explains some of what happened tonight.” The redheaded vampire stepped around Dean to stand in front of Brynne, examining her face.

  “I think she’s past the rampage. She might have a problem with all the blood in this hallway when you let go, but I think she’ll return to her normal self. I can control her if she doesn’t. I’m older and stronger than she is as long as she doesn’t sucker punch me first and I’m ready this time.”

  Dean wasn’t sure if he should let go or not, but he knew he had to take the chance. He relaxed his grip on the back of Brynne’s neck, pulling his hand away. As soon as his fingers lost contact with Brynne’s skin, his vision and mind returned to normal. In addition to that, his weariness from the brief confrontation returned.

  Brynne blinked and shook her head as if to clear her mind. She looked around and took in the carnage, the blood soaking her clothes and her friends standing around her. With a guttural cry that wrenched at Dean’s heart, he watched his friend and former partner collapse to the floor in a heap as heart-wracking sobs overtook her.

  Chapter 13

  Dean and Jaz sat in the Penthouse atop the Nightwing Building. It was the early morning hours of the next day after Brynne’s attack, and James had just arrived back from his trip. He was in with Brynne in their room, probably trying to comfort her. Dean hoped James was more successful than he had been. She was overcome with grief at the discovery she had killed people and that it was likely not the first time based on what Dean and Jaz learned about the earlier incident with the bodies found in the alley outside the building. Dean discovered that piece of information from Celeste as she was putting together what happened to Brynne with what Dean and Jaz knew from their research.