by Peter Glenn
I opened my eyes and looked around. The smoke was coming from the hood of the black sedan in front of us that had practically merged with our front bumper. The windshield had shattered, and the smoke was rolling in through the brand new hole it made.
Coughing, my first thought was for Charmaine’s safety. I looked over at her. She was starting to rouse, as well. There were some fresh cuts on her face from the glass, but other than that, she looked to be okay.
Vampires tended to be made of hardier stock than humans, so I wasn’t surprised. Relieved, but not surprised.
“Are you okay?” the words tumbled out of her mouth.
She reached forward with one hand and pulled out a shard of glass that had embedded itself in my forehead. I felt a sharp prick of pain, then it subsided as a little more hot blood poured down that side of my face.
“Never better,” I said, giving her a grin. I could only imagine how ghoulish I looked with half my face covered in blood.
“Stop it, Damian. I’m serious.”
I took a quick stock of everything. The airbags had gone off, and between them and the seatbelts, most of the injuries I’d suffered had been minor. My legs appeared to be untouched, and my arms were fine, save for a small scrape on the right side around the elbow.
That meant my Duran Duran long-sleeved shirt was toast, but that was nothing new. I seemed to be going through those like candy of late.
Still, replacing them was getting expensive. Not to mention the hassle of finding one to begin with. Maybe I could sew up the hole…
I wiped a little blood off my forehead and scanned the wound in the rearview mirror. It looked to be superficial at best. Not a huge concern, then. Nothing that wouldn’t heal fast enough. I tended to heal a little faster than the average human. Part of my immortal curse.
“I think I’m okay,” I told her. My voice felt a little thick and raw in my throat all of a sudden, but I tried to ignore it. It was probably from the smoke.
“Good.” Charmaine said, nodding.
“You? How are you holding up?”
Charmaine shrugged. She shook a little, and a shower of tiny glass particles fell from her sweater and skin like a hail of water droplets. “I’ll manage.” She motioned toward the car in front of her. “How’s our vampire friend doing?”
I squinted to try and make out the driver’s seat of the black sedan through all the smoke, but it was far too hazy.
“Let’s… get out of here,” I said, coughing again. “Then we can check.”
Another nod from Charmaine.
That was all the prodding I needed. I put my hand over my mouth and forced the door open. There was a slight bend in the metal from the crash, and it didn’t want to give at first, but with a hard enough shove, I got it to swing open just enough for me to slink out of the car.
Charmaine had an easier go of it. She shoved the door open with ease and got out without any trouble. The metal on her side must not have been as warped.
Shielding my eyes and mouth with one hand, I crept forward toward the front of the black sedan, warding off the smoke as I went. I kept one hand on the hilt of Grax’thor just in case. I didn’t want to have to fight in this condition, having just been through a wreck, but I would do it, if that’s what it took.
The black sedan looked much worse than Charmaine’s car. The front of the car had wrapped around the massive oak which now stood about where the engine would have been. All the windows had been shattered, and there was so much smoke I couldn’t even see into the interior.
Wrapping my shirt sleeve around my hand, I put my hand on the driver’s door handle and pulled. The door wouldn’t budge. It was fused shut.
Another round of coughing made me stop my efforts as the smoke wafted in my direction, making my eyes sting and water.
“Can you get this open?” I asked Charmaine, backing away.
She looked at the tangled mass of metal and frowned a little. “I’ll try.”
The veins on her forehead popped from strain, but with a massive pull, she managed to pry the door off the hinges and threw it aside. It was a real marvel to watch, like one of those videos of a guy lifting a car off their kid or something.
I tell you, if that’s what a vampire could do without its super strength, I didn’t want to see one of them at full power.
Charmaine waved her hands to clear out a huge plume of smoke that billowed out of the car in that moment, and finally, the driver’s side became clear for a half second. There was a body in there, all right, and I was pretty sure it was Blue Eyes.
Had to be. There was no way he’d escaped and put someone else in his place.
Blue Eyes didn’t look to be moving, but I had Charmaine back away anyway as I unsheathed my weapon. No point in her getting hurt if she didn’t need to. As slowly as I could, I crept up to the open hole in the car, Grax’thor out and at the ready. I glanced at the blade for any words of wisdom it could provide.
Smooth move crashing the car, dumbass, her runes read.
Tch. I should have known better. She was always a prick like that. But she’d have to tame it down eventually, right? Surely she couldn’t hold a grudge forever.
Of course, the only reason she was trapped in there was because of a two-thousand-year-old grudge, so there was that.
“Don’t move, Blue Eyes,” I said, returning my attention to the car’s occupant. Most of the smoke had cleared out, and I could make him out clearly again. I leveled the tip of my blade right at chest level, trying to look threatening.
Just then, I realized that I didn’t know how to kill a vampire. Would cold steel do the trick? Didn’t it have to be a wooden stake or something? The movies all used wooden stakes, but surely piercing the heart was death for anything, right?
I mean, I did have a magic sword. Maybe it would be effective. Still…
I changed my sword’s point to be level with Blue Eyes’ neck instead. I was fresh out of wooden stakes. Piercing the heart was all well and good, but decapitation was even better.
“We’ve got you surrounded,” I told Blue Eyes, certain he was listening somehow. “Just give yourself up nice and easy, and we won’t have to kill you.”
The sound of laughter erupted from Blue Eyes’ seat, sending a shiver up my spine. My sword tip hesitated, quivering in the air for a second as the unexpected sound rang in my ears, breaking my concentration.
That was all the opening Blue Eyes needed. He headbutted my sword, smashing his skull into the side of the blade to knock it away, getting up and blowing past me all in one smooth motion.
“Wait!” I cried.
But he was off again like a bolt of lightning, rushing down a nearby alleyway.
“Oh, come on!” I groaned. My lungs were already on fire, and I was so over chasing people down today.
“Damn it!” Charmaine swore. “He got away again!”
Just then, an idea came to me. “You can catch up to him!” I said to Charmaine. “I can’t, but you can!”
She looked at me like I’d grown three heads. “What now?”
“You can catch him!” I repeated. “With your vampire super speed. He looked pretty beaten up and probably isn’t moving as fast, and when he smacked into my sword, he opened up a gash on his head, so he’ll leave a blood trail.”
Charmaine shook her head and glared at me. “I need human blood for that, remember? I’m a vegan!”
That she did. Another thought came to me. I held up my arm to her, wrist up. “Here, you can take some of mine.”
Charmaine turned her nose up, backing away from my upturned arm, face ashen. “No,” was all she said.
“No, no, it’s okay,” I insisted. “Really.” I changed tack and leaned my head forward instead. “Here, you can take a little from my head wound. You don’t even need to bite me that way.”
“Damian, I… I can’t! I haven’t had real blood in…” She spun, turning away from me. “I just can’t, okay? I’m sorry.”
My mind raced, and I pee
red down the alleyway. How far away had Blue Eyes gotten by now?
“Look,” I said, trying to sound reasonable. “I get it. It’s because of free choice, remember? But it’s my choice! I’m offering. So you’re not breaking any vows. It’s okay.”
Charmaine spun back around to face me. “I… I don’t know, Damian.” She had a worried crease on her face and I could see the warring in her eyes, but it looked like I was winning. “It’s not just the choice, it’s the feeling of it. I… I…”
We didn’t have long now. Blue Eyes could be a few blocks away by now. I searched for the words that would do the trick. “Just do it. For Daequan. Please.” I leaned my forehead a little closer to her.
I could see a slight glimmer in Charmaine’s eyes that hadn’t been there before. The corners of her lips curled upward, and I could see the hint of fangs appearing. It was all at once alluring and frightening.
“Very well,” Charmaine said.
She wrapped her hands around my head and closed her eyes, then placed her lips over my head wound. It was sensual in a way, and it made me feel all tingly in spite of everything else going on. Then it was over as quick as it had started, and Charmaine was racing down the alleyway, leaving me behind wondering what had happened.
I took off after the pair of vampires, hoping I’d be able to catch up to them before too long. The going was tough, because the smoke in my lungs made breathing a chore, but I kept after them, coughing and leaning a little on my right side all the while. I guess the wreck had affected me more than I knew.
Fortunately, I’d been right, and there was a trail of blood droplets to follow, so at least I knew which way to go.
Lumbering down the cramped alleyway, I stumbled forward in a bit of a daze. Walking was somehow harder than it had any right to be. Like I was a normal human or something, and not an immortal warrior. And I still thought everything was fine. I couldn’t feel any bones stick out or anything.
Well, except for the few spots where I felt numb, like my forehead wound. Which somehow hurt least of all in that moment.
Was it loss of blood? Maybe it was some sort of after-effect of the vampire bite? I’d practically fallen over after the last one, too. Maybe that was it?
Regardless, each step started to feel like a battle just to keep upright. But I had to track them down. I couldn’t leave Charmaine alone with a monster like Blue Eyes.
My legs started to drag, but I trudged on anyway. Charmaine needed me up there, and I wasn’t going to let her down.
A few hundred feet in, I had to stop while a hacking fit racked my chest as it tried to evacuate all the smoke that lingered there. The coughing fit threatened to overwhelm me, and I paused for a moment to let it subside, then I was off again.
Up ahead, I thought I heard the metallic clang of something heavy crashing against the ground, and I knew I was gaining on the vampires.
Everything ached, and I thought the next step would be the death of me, but I kept going onward anyway, determined not to miss too much of the action. Just a little bit further.
Another crashing sound came then, sounding like several bricks raining down from somewhere up high in the alley just off to my left.
My lungs threatened to evacuate my body, but I ignored their protests. Just down the next alley. That’s where they were, I was sure of it. Just a few more feet, and I’d be there.
I spilled into the next alleyway, leaning on Grax’thor for balance and to keep me upright. I saw them, then. Charmaine and Blue Eyes, going at it in the alley.
The fight looked intense, even from a slight distance. Their actions were so fast and fierce that I could barely keep up with the intensity, the glow in their respective eyes the only constant as limbs thrashed and punches and kicks were made and blocked.
Charmaine smashed her palm into Blue Eyes’ knee, and he stumbled backward, flying into a nearby dumpster. He hit it so hard, it left a vaguely vampire-sized dent in the side of it.
In spite of the hit, Blue Eyes was up and back at Charmaine an instant later, shrugging off the blow like nothing had happened. He spun and tried to kick her in the head, but his foot went wide and missed her by a hand’s span.
Charmaine caught his leg in mid-air and spun it, sending Blue Eyes flying into the ground. He smacked into the pavement with a loud thud and a thwack as a puddle of rainwater mixed with refuse kicked up its remnants, covering both of them in a sheen of muck.
Still, Blue Eyes got up again. I could tell he was outmatched, if only barely. But he fought on. The rogue vampire reared backward a half step, then he lunged forward with a hail of blows aimed at Charmaine’s middle. She moved her own hands to block them, but was only half successful, and she was forced back until she was almost up against a wall.
One of the blows finally connected, and Charmaine slammed into the wall so hard I thought she was going to sail right through it. All around her, brick lay crumbling from the vampire-sized dent she’d left in the side of the building.
And yet, not a moment later, she shook herself off, sending a shower of splinters and brick dust flying everywhere as she fought back, completely unfazed.
Blue Eyes tried to grapple her then, but Charmaine slid under his grasp and headbutted him in the torso instead. He flew backward, tumbling to the ground. Charmaine was on top of him a second later, kneeling on his chest and slamming her fist down onto his skull repeatedly.
I thought I heard a crunch of his skull breaking, but even that didn’t seem to slow either of them down.
“How dare you!” Charmaine screamed as she pummeled him. “You… killed… my… husband’s… friend… and… damned… him!” Each word was accentuated by another thrust of her powerful fist.
“Easy now,” I said as I sidled up next to her. I caught her arm on the backswing and tried to hold it, but I was hopeless against her might. She shook off my grip and rammed her fist into Blue Eyes’ face one last time, then turned to face me.
“You don’t want to kill him, remember?” I reminded her.
Charmaine glared up at me. Her eyes were glowing a slight reddish color, and there was an animal wildness to them, like a lioness on a hunt. For a second, I feared she was going to turn on me next.
“It’s not worth it,” I told her. “We need him alive for questioning.”
Charmaine pulled her fist back again and punched Blue Eyes right in the nose. I heard a crack as the cartilage broke and blood spurted out everywhere. I lurched forward in an attempt to pull her away, but she got off him and backed up, holding her hands out in front of her.
“That was for Daequan,” she said, spitting on Blue Eyes’ broken nose.
I watched her for another moment before turning my attention to our little captive. Even though she’d fought hard, Charmaine showed none of the signs of exertion. No labored breathing, no sweat covering her body.
Being a vampire must rock. I’d have to try it sometime. But not right now. Right now, I had other matters to tend to.
“So, Blue Eyes,” I said as casually as I could, holding back another coughing fit. “Not so tough now, are you?” There was a little more gloating in my tone than there probably should have been, considering I’d been nothing but a spectator for that bout.
I brought forth Grax’thor anyway and let the tip of the blade hover over his exposed neck. I know, I know. It was the same move I’d tried before. But he looked a lot less likely to fight it this time.
“Anything to say before we turn your sorry ass over to the authorities?”
Blue Eyes coughed and spat out a bit of blood that had pooled in the back of his throat from the nose wound. “Actually, yes.”
I cocked my head to the side and creased my brows. I’d been expecting a lot of things, but not that. “Come again?”
“Yes, I do have something to say.”
His voice was remarkably smooth and even, given the thrashing he’d just received. If a tad off-kilter.
“Well, come on, then.” I prodded his throat with the ti
p of my blade. “Out with it already. Confess.”
The vampire rolled his eyes. “Ugh, you’ve got it all wrong, chief. I’m not guilty of anything. Breaking and entering maybe, but certainly not murder.” He scoffed. “I’m not an idiot.”
“Pfft. That’s the most unoriginal line ever.” And it was, too. The criminals always complain they’re not the killer. But they were. “Come on, you’ve got to do better than that.”
Blue Eyes nudged the tip of my weapon with one of his hands. “I’ll be happy to, if you can get this oversized can opener out of my field of vision and let me up.”
“Ooh, nice one!” I beamed at him, hoping Grax’thor heard every word of that insult. I’d have to use it on her myself later.
“We don’t have all day,” Blue Eyes said, seemingly unimpressed. “The police are going to come for that car accident before too long, you know. Chop chop.”
I glanced over at Charmaine. The debate was raging in her head, and she still looked so angry I thought she’d smack him again, but at length, she inclined her head.
“Fine,” I said.
I retracted Grax’thor, returning her to the sheath at my side while repressing a snicker. Can opener indeed. I was going to make her do that sometime soon just to see how she groaned about it later.
“You’re free to stand, but if you try anything stupid, I’m sure Charmaine here will only break your face even harder than last time.”
That made Charmaine smile a little bit.
Blue Eyes arched his back and got into a standing position in one singular, swift motion like he was some sort of acrobat. Man, I really had to stop messing with vampires. Talk about being outclassed. I was more glad than ever that I’d given Charmaine a little of my blood.
He dusted himself off and smoothed his shirt a little. I could make out a small horse figure on the lapel. Designer stuff. And he’d been dunked in alley water.
That was almost a good enough punishment all on its own.
“And the name is Viktor, by the way,” Blue Eyes said. He extended his hand to me. “Who might you be, exactly?”
I puffed up my chest as well as I was able and did my best to stand up straight. “Damian’s the name. Occult investigator extraordinaire.” I thought about giving a little bow or something, but I didn’t have the strength to pull it off. But I did shake the hand, even if it gave me vampire willies. It was less cold than I’d expected. And not as clammy.