100 Miles and Vampin'

by C. T. Phipps

  We were being targeted by snipers.

  Crap.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Well, damn, this is some Blackwater crap,” I said, raising my hands in the air.

  “Aren’t we immune to bullets?” David asked.

  Sam shot him a deadly look.

  “Not that I would try anything...again,” David said, quickly.

  “Depends on the bullet,” I said, simply. “Explosive rounds, blessed bullets, magic bullets, that crazy liquid sunshine bullet from Underworld.”

  “Which do not exist,” Thoth said, also raising his hands. “Come out, Wyatt, we know it’s you.”

  Stepping out of the shadows was the tall, lanky cowboy from my vision. He reminded me a bit of Joaquin Phoenix only he was chewing tobacco and dressed like a Southern hick. He was also powerful, I could tell even from this distance, and maybe had every bit as much strength as Thoth.

  Following him from the shadows were four other vampires dressed in an eclectic style. There was a burly Nordic-looking bastard dressed like a biker. He had a long red beard and was carrying a war hammer. He stood next to a twelve-year-old girl with pigtails, blood around her mouth, and a tattered Victorian dress that made her look like she’d come out of a bad horror movie. The fourth member of the party was an inhuman-looking seven-foot-tall thing with a rectangular two-foot-tall head and eight fingers on each hand. It was completely naked but seemingly sexless. Dude looked like an alien, and I didn’t say that lightly since extraterrestrials were about the only thing I was certain humans had not encountered so far. Mind you, I thought goblins were mythical until a minute ago. Finally, there was a guy who either was cosplaying as Blade or was way into the vampire hunting thing as a lifestyle. He was a brother with a shaved, tattooed scalp, two katanas drawn, and bandoliers of silver stakes. The guy also was packing like six guns in various holsters. I felt bad for the guy because he was clearly overcompensating for something.

  David took one look at them then said, “Okay, we have to get a picture with these guys and Yuki. Our old comic book club would never forgive us if we didn’t share it.”

  “Good to know you still have a sense of humor, David,” I said, looking at the collection of crazy-looking vampire hunters. “If I may ask, you Rob Zombie looking mothersuckers, if you’re down here then who the hell is manning the laser sight rifles?”

  “Twenty of our vampire friends,” Wyatt said, speaking with a thick Texas drawl. “They’re all newly-turned but ex-Special Forces, Blackwater PMC, and Marines to the man. Each of them has fed on a human tonight so they’re all full and ready for action.”

  “Twenty vampires isn’t a delegation, it’s an invasion,” Thoth said, his voice low and menacing. “If Forsyth really making his move now?”

  “Seems as good time as any, old friend,” Wyatt said, walking forward. “Most of the City Council is dead, Enil has a dark secret, and we have a couple of decent scapegoats to deal with.”

  “Scapegoats?” I said, looking at him. “You never cared about who killed Rebecca Plum, really?”

  Wyatt snorted. “Forsyth was madly in love with the old cow, but he knew New Detroit was a bigger prize. He knew eventually one of you would kill her and that would be the perfect cover for us arriving. Peter Stone, scion of Thoth, scion of Doubye, scion of Dracula, scion of Enil, scion of Lamia is the perfect collection of fuck-ups to deal with. At least the first couple on that list.”

  “Wait, we’re related to Dracula?” I said, turning to Thoth.

  “Not the time, Peter,” Thoth said, clearly looking for a way out when we were outnumbered five-to-one.

  “Sure,” Mina said. “Great grandpappy thinks Thoth is his best descendant.”

  “When the hell was Dracula in the Caribbean?” I asked.

  “When he was a pirate,” Thoth said.

  Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. Mind you, I was trying not to think about the fact of how screwed we were. I preferred to think about the fact Thoth had talked nothing but shit about Vlad the Impaler since the moment I’d first brought him up like every new vampire. It explained a few things like why Thoth had vampire bribes, lived in a pyramid-shaped casino (which was like a castle), and had all the traditional vampire powers in addition to his Haitian hoodoo. Mind you, I was going to get so much shit for the fact I was the great-grand-scion of a white man. Then again, if Enil had made Dracula that made him part black.

  Are you seriously thinking about all that now? Sam asked, mentally.

  Have you got any magic that could help against these bastards? I asked back.

  No, I can’t touch it. I feel it, but only when I’m angry and hateful.

  Then get mad, I thought back at her.

  I’m very mad.

  “It’s Gog, Wyatt,” Thoth said, staring at the other vampires. “One of the kings of hell stalks New Detroit’s streets, seeking revenge. Now is not the right time to make your play for the city. He seeks your blood as much as anyone.”

  Wyatt twitched, which was damn noticeable since most Old Ones didn’t move their faces unless they absolutely wanted to. “You’re lying.”

  “You were right that someone was going to take care of Rebecca Plum,” Thoth said. “I was going to have it be Peter and then frame her to make Texas pay reparations.”

  “Wait, what?” I turned to him. “You were using me as a hit man?”

  “You would have gotten half-a-million dollars of the fee,” Thoth said as if that made everything better.

  Which it did.

  “Okay, then I’m disappointed I didn’t kill the psycho bitch,” I replied.

  “Peter!” Sam said. “Don’t use psycho bitch as a descriptor. Even if it was true.”

  “But Enil killed her first, on Gog’s orders,” Thoth said, pointing to each of the undead. “It was to lure you here, Wyatt, so you could be killed along with the rest of us.”

  “If Gog were here, we’d know,” Wyatt said. “Our past friendship only goes so far, wizard.”

  From my perspective, it didn’t go anywhere since he was about to invade and take over our city while a demon picked us off one by one.

  “Demons are very good manipulators,” Thoth said, gesturing to his side. “Are you sure Forsyth even came up with this plan? We know that treacherous old Wounded Knee commander has consulted with demons before. Your sacrifice might be the price he is willing to pay in order to become master of New Detroit with Gog’s help.”

  Is that true? I asked Thoth mentally.

  It could be true, I don’t know, Thoth said. All that matters is he believes it.

  Gotcha.

  “They’re lying and trying to manipulate you,” the little girl vampire said. “I can read it in their thoughts.”

  “Goddammit,” Thoth muttered.

  “You bastard,” Wyatt said, showing fang. “I was going to deliver you back alive but now—”

  “He wasn’t lying about the archdemon, though,” the little girl said, cackling like a witch. “Which presents an opportunity. Kill them all, Wyatt and the others included.”

  I slowed down time right before the bullets started flying toward us. I managed, just barely to extend a “bubble” around myself that encompassed most of my associates, but it felt like I was running a marathon—back when I was human and still subject to getting tired. Everyone broke in different directions. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much as Wyatt immediately pulled out his gun and started firing at me, apparently possessing Time Manipulation himself. The little girl also charged at Yuki, tackling her like a pint-sized football player.

  That was when my Time Manipulation went out prematurely and I fully expected to be showered with sniper shot. Instead, there was the sound of screams, rending of flesh, and the tops of nearby buildings bursting into flame.

  “What the fuck?” I asked, wondering what the hell was going on.

  Wyatt was suddenly in front of me, stabbing me with a Bowie knife, then behind me, stabbing me again, and then trying to cut my throat o
nly to just nick the side. It happened in a flash and was a sign of what Time Manipulation looked like when you were on the other side of it. I fell to my knees only to slam my head back into his chest, which caused the older vampire to reel back. I grabbed his arm and ripped it clean off, spinning around to punch him in the gut with my super-strength.

  He moved behind me again and was about to stab me in the skull for the third time. Time slowed again, though, and the two of us moved at similar speeds. I punched him in the face and grabbed his knife before turning it around to jab into his chest. I was much, much stronger than Wyatt and it went through his ribcage into his heart.

  Then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, Wyatt collapsed to the ground. It was a common misconception that stakes through the heart killed vampires. They only immobilized us. They also didn’t have to be wooden, and if you were an Old One like Wyatt, then it required a helluva lot of punch to knock it through your ribs.

  Clearly, I had it.

  “Bastard!” the Blade-looking mofo shouted, aiming his pistol at me and firing repeatedly. I felt silver bullets hit my shoulder and underneath my heart.

  “Ouch! Bullets, my one weakness!” I shouted back, charging at the guy with my hands growing thick razor-sharp claws.

  Truth be told, I shouldn’t have been so flippant. Prior to the invention of the machine gun, bullets weren’t much of a threat to vampires since getting shot through the heart was possible but unlikely. Plus, the bullet had to get lodged inside in order to immobilize a vampire. Nowadays? Well, you could just spray and pray a lot of undead until they went down. Old Ones had skin hard enough that this wasn’t a viable strategy but that’s what higher caliber rounds were for. Still, I ran up to the guy. He dodged out of the way of my slashes, only to toss his gun to the ground and pull out his katana.

  “I’m not your 1001st kill!” I snarled, slowing down time one last moment and grabbing his throat between my fangs then tearing it out. That didn’t kill him but it sure as hell slowed him down long enough for me to stab him Wolverine style. My fingers went right up through his kidneys and out the other side. Vampires didn’t need most organs but having them pushed out their back sure as hell wasn’t good for them.

  The vampire just looked at me, unable to chuckle. It, instead, spoke in my mind. You aren’t going to survive this, Stone. When the demons are finished with this place, the flag of Texas is going to fly over this place.

  Why do you care? I snapped back at him.

  Because I’m getting paid!

  I could have finished him off but I, instead, grabbed his katana where he dropped it off the ground and stabbed it through his heart, driving it straight through the concrete below. Frankly, that impressed the hell out of me since I would have thought silver blades would snap in two. It was probably either magic or made of carbon nanotube B.S. like I knew a few vampires had invested in.

  The battle around me raged wild and vicious. Thoth threw fireballs, ice storms, lightning, and virtually everything from the Dungeons and Dragons manual at the little girl who attacked with spectral horrors I shuddered to describe. Imagine walls of eyeballs, organs, and mouths with thousands of teeth. The alien creature floated toward David and Samantha, blasting them both with a weird blue light, only for Samantha to shoot it in the head with the BOSS agent’s gun. It went down without a fight, collapsing into a sizzling greenish goo that was almost disappointing to see.

  Yukie fought the huge vampire with the war hammer, the two of them swinging at each other with their melee weapons only for magic to crackle with each strike. Mina, by contrast, I didn’t see and wondered if she’d sensibly fled until a Desert Eagle fired from nearby cover and popped the huge vampire in the face, distracting it for a second and allowing Yukie to impale it through the base of its skull.

  Thoth’s wizard duel with the little girl ended with him conjuring a glowing dome of blood around himself, only for her to tear it apart with her bare hands. As powerful as my creator was, apparently Claudia here was even stronger and the second Ancient One of tonight we were fighting. She was about to strike Thoth dead when I saw Lucinda step out of the shadows behind her—by which I mean, literally, a shadow opened and produced her.

  The little girl tried to react, only for Lucinda to grab her arms and rip them off. She hurled the little girl into the air, and a frigging dragon flew over us and breathed fire down on her. The little girl screamed and thrashed on the ground in a pool of what looked like liquid napalm, only for Lucinda to send a streak of living darkness forward that caused her to explode into chunks that disintegrated into dust in the air.

  “Ten points!” I shouted, giving her two thumbs up. Then I paused. “Wait, did I just see a frigging dragon? I’m not high?”

  The twenty-foot-long dragon, which kind of looked like a giant alligator with wings, circled around us before settling down on the ground. It then transformed into a devastatingly handsome white-haired man in a red trench coat who bore some resemblance to Yuki. He was another demonkin and of the incredibly handsome variety.

  I hated him immediately.

  Lucinda, notably, was dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of blue jeans. It was a remarkably sensible attire that fit the 21st century. Then again, I’d only met the voivode of Mexico in a vision.

  Lucinda helped Thoth up, and he stretched his neck and rolling it around as if to shake off the worst effects of the battle. “That is Lucien Lyons, he is a weredragon.”

  “Bullshit,” I said. “First weredeer and now weredragons? Also, what kind of weredragon has a name like Lyons?”

  “Not weredragon, just dragon,” Lucien said, giving a charming smile. “As for Lyons, it was my mother’s name. You shouldn’t mock weredeer, though. I’m quite fond of one.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Yukie said, extending her hand, which he took.

  Yeah, I totally hated this guy. “So, I take it these are your reinforcements?”

  “Some of them,” Thoth said, his voice low. “Mind you, I don’t like our chances if we couldn’t even defeat Wyatt’s group on our own.”

  “Belladonna was an Ancient and a worshiper of Gog,” Lucinda said, presumably referring to the dead little girl. “Gog will feel that loss. Undoubtedly, she stoked the fury of Forsyth’s ambition.”

  “Enil and Gog are both here,” Thoth said. “I can sense their presence. They’re waiting for us. Did you bring the others?”

  Lucinda raised her hand. “A moment, please.”

  Lucinda walked over and hugged Yukie. Yukie looked incredibly uncomfortable.

  “I am sorry,” Lucinda said.

  Yukie opened her mouth to speak then looked down.

  “Hey, Mrs. L,” Mina said, waving from a corner.

  “Good evening, Mina,” Lucinda said, still hugging Yukie. “I trust your period of education under Thoth is going well.”

  “He still hasn’t changed me,” Mina said.

  “Your great-grandfather and he would have to throw down, and I wouldn’t place any bets on who would win,” Lucinda said. “Not to mention your namesake would never forgive him.”

  I didn’t get a chance to say much more because a hulking wolfman on all fours came toward us. I initially mistook it as a werewolf because, well, their “war form” was kind of unmistakable at nine feet tall with Incredible Hulk proportions and a wolf’s head. However, when it got closer, I sensed the unmistakable aura of a vampire. Worse, I saw the scars on its back and knew instantly who it was—even before he turned back into a naked and still somewhat furry Carl Jackson. His eyes glowed, and there were patches of hair across his body with his ears stretched up like an animal’s.

  “You!” I growled. “I thought you were dead!”

  Jackson smiled. “I’m harder to kill than those BOSS bitches think. But don’t worry, Stone, I’m here to help save the world.”

  I gave the most appropriate reaction I could at that moment. “Ah hell nah!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “How did you ge
t away from the BOSS agents?” Thoth asked Jackson.

  “I’m a frigging werewolf and a vampire,” Jackson said through a mouthful of sharp teeth. “I killed anyone who stood in my way.”

  “And you found us, how?” Thoth asked.

  “I came here for my creator,” Jackson said. “Not you. Then I saw some out-of-towners got your number and joined in the slaughter. I got three.”

  “We could have handled it,” I said, trying and failing to control my rage.

  “Well, thanks anyway,” Mina said, looking concerned at me. “Peter, maybe you should take a moment and get calmed—”

  I charged at Jackson, lifting my clawed hands to attack him while Jackson prepared to fight me.

  Thoth told me to stop, but I didn’t feel any of it. Jackson retaliated by slamming right into me with his full vampire and werewolf strength combined. I would have died in our first battle, I realized that now, but when we struck, I managed to break both of his arms before hurling him against a nearby concession stand. I was on him again then, only Jackson completely returned to form. In his now-healed arms was a shotgun, which he aimed at me and shot me in the chest.

  “Son of a bitch!” I said, feeling that one.

  Jackson then lifted his shotgun to aim at my head. I was about to try to stop time again when a shadowy tendril shot forth from behind me and grabbed me around the waist then pulled me out of the way. A second shot forth and struck Jackson’s shotgun, causing it to explode.

  “Goddammit!” Jackson hissed.

  The shadowy tendril lifted me up and turned me upside down before I saw it was coming out of Lucinda’s fingers, like she was a kind of darkness-based Poison Ivy. “Down boy. He is on our side.”

  “Like hell he is!” I snarled. “He killed my brother.”

  “Your brother had it coming!” Jackson growled. “Besides, you killed Tyrone! He was my cousin! I deserve revenge more than you.”

  The kind of profanity that poured out of my mouth was not something that could be repeated but was some of the worst I’d spoken in my life. It was less than a thousandth of the rage and hatred I felt in that moment.