Who Framed the Vegan Vampire (The Immortality Curse Book 3)

by Peter Glenn

  “You’re an odd one, Damian,” Charmaine said, shaking her head at me.

  “Hey!” I whined. “Some of us are still human and need sleep.”

  “Wake up, sleepy head!” Charmaine said, nudging me in the ribs.

  “Huh? What?” I groaned.

  I blinked my eyes a few times and took a look at my surroundings. I was still in the back of the car with Charmaine. The car was moving along rhythmically, albeit at a lower speed than it had been when I’d fallen asleep.

  “We’re almost there.” Charmaine told me. Her voice cut through the grogginess in my head. “To The Gorge, I mean.”

  “Oh, good.”

  I stifled a yawn and got up, only then realizing that my head had been placed precariously right in the center of Charmaine’s lap again.

  My cheeks burned as I flashed her a sheepish grin. When had that happened? “S-sorry,” I stammered. “I didn’t mean to–”

  “It’s okay, Damian. I didn’t mind.” She shrugged. “Probably more comfortable than the car seat anyway, right?”

  How was she okay with me doing that? I was embarrassed just thinking about how cozy it had all been. Had I drooled on her? Ugh, too many sticky questions. I shook my head to clear away the thoughts.

  “Any sign of Tom yet?” I asked, changing the subject.

  Charmaine shook her head slightly. “Nothing yet, Damian. But we’re only at the entrance. All we’ve seen so far is a few cars and a handful of concertgoers that are up early making food. Looks to be quite the event.”

  I let out a half chuckle. “Yeah. That’s what I’m worried about.”

  I turned my attention toward the outside. The sky up above was starting to get lighter. It wasn’t quite sunrise yet, but it was getting close. I frowned at that. Daylight would be bad for stealth.

  At least it still looked overcast. I knew vampires couldn’t function well in the sunlight. It didn’t kill them outright unless they were in it for a while, but it certainly did them no favors. Charmaine would be safe.

  The road we were on took a bit of a circuitous route toward its final destination, a giant amphitheater with a sound stage overlooking the Columbia River. In the daylight, it was quite gorgeous. I’d been there a time or two for various summer concerts. Those memories were foremost in my mind, even if we were here for a much darker purpose this time.

  Just up ahead, the driver pulled over and came to a stop. “Sorry, but this is as close as I can get. They’re not allowing cars past this point,” he said.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Thanks for getting us here.”

  “Hopefully, we’ll be back within the hour,” Charmaine told him. “So please stay here. I’ll call you if the plans change.”

  “You got it, boss,” the driver said with a stiff salute.

  We piled out of the back of the car, and I checked my pockets. I still had the few magical devices I’d gone to my apartment for in my jacket pockets. Nothing major—just a tangle charm, a flashbang, and a small recording device. I couldn’t afford the really good stuff, but if it came to blows, I could always use Grax’thor.

  “How you doing, sweetie?” I asked my sword, patting her on the hilt.

  Aren’t you dead, yet? she replied.

  Sweet like candy, just like usual. At least she was a constant in this crazy world.

  “Ready?” I asked Charmaine. She was still wearing the same outfit as yesterday, and I assumed she hadn’t slept, but she looked just as fresh as she had when I’d met her last morning somehow.

  Charmaine nodded. “Ready as ever. Let’s go save the world.”

  “Heck yeah.” I held out my hand for a fist bump. It felt like a fist bump moment. It took a second, but Charmaine’s cold hand finally bumped mine back.

  Feeling energized for once, we made our way over to and through the giant “Welcome to the Gorge” sign. There were a few other people heading through it at this hour as well, so it didn’t look out of the ordinary, and I made no attempts to hide my appearance.

  As far as anyone else would know, we were just two concertgoers trying to check out the stage and maybe get some autographs before the bands went live.

  In spite of the relative calm of the morning, I kept my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. My gut told me that whatever Tom had planned, he’d do it tonight when the crowds were gathered by the sound stage. But right now, he could be anywhere.

  We walked along in relative silence for a while, me checking out everyone I could to try and catch a glimpse of Tom, and Charmaine keeping me apprised of anything that looked out of the ordinary. But very little did. It was a concert. Anything could happen.

  Up ahead, I saw the giant ferris wheel glowing in the dim light of the morning. It was lit up in oranges and yellows, no doubt for Halloween.

  Part of me longed to come back here with LaLuna someday and ride it with her. I liked ferris wheels and hoped she would, too.

  “Damian,” Charmaine said, snapping my head back to the moment.

  “What is it?” I glanced around, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  “Over there.” She was pointing toward a couple of RVs parked nearby. “Could that be what we’re looking for?”

  I squinted to try and make out what she was pointing at exactly. It was just a bunch of RVs parked near each other. I didn’t see what she was talking about. At least not right away. I moved forward another few steps and squinted harder.

  “Wait, is that…?”

  Charmaine shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

  My shoulders tensed, and my hand slid down to Grax’thor’s hilt. If that was what I thought it was, then Tom would be nearby, and I’d only get one chance to get the drop on him before he could react.

  I motioned for Charmaine to crouch down, and she did so, then we crept over toward the strange, eerie light peeking out from the corner of the nearest RV. The light had a sickly glow to it and flickered a lot, like it was coming from negatively charged candles or something.

  We crept onward, moving as slowly and quietly as we could, and the strange light came into focus. I could barely make out the details, but I was pretty sure there were chalk markings on the dirt and grass underneath it.

  Then we rounded the corner of the RV and more details came clear. I was right. There was a pentagram on the ground, lit in five corners by black candles that were emitting the eerie light.

  I didn’t see anyone around the pentagram, but it was a surefire sign of meddling with demons.

  True, it could have been an amateur metalhead that didn’t know what they were doing, but something told me it was more than that.

  I glanced over at Charmaine. She looked about as tense as I did. I motioned toward the door of the nearby RV and she nodded. Together, we made our way over there, making sure to stay as quiet as possible.

  My hand was sweaty and shaking as I placed it on the door handle to the RV. Tom was likely inside, making further preparations. I had to get this right.

  Slowly, my fingers wrapped around the door handle, and I pulled. As soon as the door was open enough for me to get in there, I leapt into the RV, unsheathing Grax’thor in the same motion and holding her in front of me.

  I scanned the interior, but saw nothing other than an unmade bed and some cabinets.

  “Damn,” I muttered. I started to exit the RV, but something from behind me made the hairs on my neck stand on edge.

  A strange laughing noise erupted from the bed area, and I froze.

  “You think I’m that easy to sneak up on?” a strange, slightly nasally voice said.

  I turned around slowly, keeping my hands on my blade and it out in front of me. “Kinda, yeah,” I admitted, grinning slightly.

  The man that greeted me was every bit a geek. He was about my height, with a slim build and pale, slightly pimpled skin. He wore horn-rimmed glasses that slightly obscured his deep brown eyes. The guy was wearing a Nintendo t-shirt and skinny jeans.

  “Tom, I presume?” I aske
d him.

  He nodded. “And you must be that Damian fellow I’ve heard so much about. The one that broke into my apartment last night.”

  “You found out about that, eh?” I gave him a sheepish look.

  “Uh huh.” Tom nodded again. “I have a security camera, so I got a really good look at the supposed delivery driver that came to bring me tacos.”

  “Heh. You gotta admit, it’s a good ruse. I mean, who doesn’t like tacos?”

  “Whatever. Put that thing away before you hurt someone.” He fingered the tip of Grax’thor while he spoke.

  “Sure thing.”

  I flashed him a grin and made my move. I swiped at him so fast my sword arm moved in something of a blur. But somehow, he was quicker, blinking in and out of existence and appearing beside me a second later, free from harm.

  Tom tsked a few times and grabbed my sword with his free hand. Miraculously, it didn’t seem to cut him in the slightest, even though the edge was razor sharp. I tried to free the blade, but it wouldn’t budge. He had it held fast.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Tom admonished me.

  He motioned with his eyes toward the outside of the RV. I followed his gaze and saw Charmaine standing there, a knife at her throat and a stake pointed right at her heart. She was surrounded by half a dozen goons.

  “Now, like I said, put that thing away.”

  “Wish I could, mate,” I told him with another grin. “She’s kind of got a mind of her own.”

  Tom let out a long sigh. “Fine. We do it the hard way, then.”

  He moved again, quicker than I could follow, and I felt something hard smash into the base of my neck. Then everything went dark.

  15

  “Ugh, my head,” I groaned. I’d been knocked unconscious or thrown to the floor one too many times of late. I was going to have to work on that if I ever got out of this current predicament.

  “Good. The detective finally awakens,” a nasally voice said.

  It took me a minute to realize it was Tom Hardy speaking to me. “Oh,” I grumbled. “You.”

  “Yes,” Tom said, cracking a smile. “It is me. Your savior and your murderer all rolled into one.”

  He gave a grand bow that I only half-caught. My vision was still a little blurry, and the back of my neck was throbbing something fierce. I’m not sure what he’d used to knock me out, but it must have been something heavy. Not to mention I was still recovering from the previous fight. Had the bandage on my chin given me away? There was no way to know now.

  “Well, you got the murderer part right,” I told him with a wide grin.

  “Humph! What do you know!” Tom spat. He shot me an evil glare, then turned his attention toward something in front of him.

  Good going, Damian. Anger the guy that captured you. That’s sure to end well for everyone involved.

  While Tom was busy doing something other than taunting me, I took stock of my situation. We weren’t in the RV anymore, though I wasn’t sure where we were. It was still somewhere indoors, because there was a roof overhead, but it wasn’t as cramped as the RV.

  Gee, this guy must have been preparing for weeks if he had multiple spots to work in. Just great. Still, it gave me no idea as to what time it was and how much time I had left before the killing started in earnest.

  I was standing upright, but only because something was holding me into place. I tested the bonds at my wrists and feet. The bonds dug into my skin and only seemed to get tighter the more I fussed with them.

  There’d be no help there, then.

  I could move my head around quite freely, so I lowered it to check and see if Grax’thor was by my side like normal. Maybe I could somehow nudge her into the right spot to cut through the ropes that were twisted around my torso or something.

  But I was not that lucky. Grax’thor was gone.

  I could barely believe it. I’d tried to get rid of her multiple times, and she’d always come straight back. How could Tom have gotten rid of her so easily? Part of me was slightly relieved that she wouldn’t be back to bug me, but right now, I could have really used her.

  There was no sign of Charmaine, either. I wasn’t sure whether or not she was even still alive, but I held out hope that she was.

  Still, in that moment, I was well and truly alone with this madman. As alone as I’d been in months. At least before, I’d always had Grax’thor’s presence. Even if I hated her and she me, she’d always been something of a constant these past months. But now, there was nothing. No help anywhere to be found, and no reason to expect it to come to me. I was all alone.

  And I really felt it.

  I let out a long sigh, which Tom must have caught, because he glowered at me for a second, then went back to doing whatever it was he was doing.

  I tried to move my hands around to feel out my pockets to see if I still had any of my little magical devices on me, or whether or not Tom had confiscated them. I was still wearing my jacket and nothing looked out of place, so I had some hope.

  Not that I knew what a flashbang charm or a tangle charm would do for me since I was the one tied up, but it felt nice to know that they were options.

  “So, Tom, tell me. What’s your grand plan?”

  Tom looked at me and scowled, then went back to working on his preparations. I tried to see what he was doing, but he was blocking the ground with his back, so I couldn’t make much out.

  Drawing another pentagram, I figured. Something he could use to summon the demon hordes to his side. It would make sense.

  I heard a soft click and a whirring noise as the recording charm clicked on at the mention of my code word “plan.” I tensed up for a moment, thinking Tom would have heard it, too, but he kept on like nothing had happened.

  A sigh of relief crossed my lips. If the recording charm was still there, then my other charms probably were, too. Now if only I could get to them…

  “Come on, Tom. Spill the beans. Why do you have me here? Why am I still alive?”

  Tom straightened and turned to face me, giving me a derisive look. “That eager to die, are you?”

  I laughed. “Kinda, yeah. You picked the wrong guy, if your biggest threat is my mortality.”

  Tom’s eyes darkened and anger flared in his face. He was right up next to me a second later, blinking in and out once more with his crazy demon magic. “You’d do well to remember your place, worm!” he sneered at me. “You and that bitch of yours are only alive because I say so!”

  He wagged a finger in my face, and for a moment, I thought he was going to smack me with his open palm. I tensed for the blow, but it never came.

  “And I care why?” I laughed. “Like I said, life’s not really a big deal for me.”

  I could feel his heat on me as he stared into my eyes, his face mere inches from mine. The corners of his lips curled into a wicked smile, and he finally backed away a step. “Yeah, well, don’t worry, it’ll be forfeit soon enough.”

  Tom went back to the object on the ground he was fussing with a moment later. While he walked back, I got a better glimpse as to what it was. It looked like an oversized candle that was half as tall as a man, and he was carving some sort of symbols into the sides of it.

  My mind raced as I went back to the pages in the demon summoning book. What step had the candle markings been again? How much longer did I have until doomsday? I was pretty sure the candle thing was one of the last steps.

  Damn. Time was running out.

  “I’m more concerned about Charmaine, anyway,” I said, trying to distract Tom further. Besides, if I could get him to talk enough, maybe he’d end up confessing and clearing Daequan’s name.

  “Charmaine?” Tom snorted. “That’s a stupid name for a vampire.”

  “Yeah?” I fired back. “What’s it to you? Why is she still alive, anyway? Why are any of us alive?”

  Tom let out a maniacal laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

  A wry grin creased my face. “I mean, it is why I asked.”


  In the blink of any eye, Tom was on top of me again, laying into me. His fist slammed into my cheek, rocking my whole head and making stars swim in my eyes from the force of the blow. He followed it up with a couple punches to my gut.

  I wanted to keel over from the pain radiating through my core, but I was tied up such that all I could do was sag against the ropes.

  “Not so cheeky now, are you?” Tom sneered, holding his fist in a menacing pose.

  Coughing, I looked him straight in the face. “Dude, I told you, if you want meek, you’ve got the wrong guy.”

  Tom’s fist came at me again, slamming into my chin and causing my head to smack against the wall or pole that kept me upright. My vision started to blur again, and the pain in the front and back of my head increased tenfold as the chin wound opened back up.

  God, that guy was stronger than he looked. Must be an effect of the demon magic he was using.

  I felt something warm gush in my mouth. It tasted metallic. Blood, then. Fresh blood was seeping through my mouth from a cut. I spit it out onto the ground and felt around the inside of my mouth with my tongue. All my teeth still seemed to be in place, so there was that at least.

  “That should teach you to stay in your place,” Tom growled. Then he turned and went back to his preparations again.

  “Heh. What can I say, I’m a slow learner.”

  Tom glowered at me again, but this time, he said nothing and just got back to work.

  Damn. Seemed he realized I was stalling for time. Oh well. But maybe I could still get a confession out of him anyway.

  “But seriously, Tom, what’s the grand plan? Summon demons to do your bidding. Then what? What’s next?”

  Tom grunted as he finished making his current marking, then he turned and glared at me again. “So many questions from a gnat like yourself. It doesn’t make you more important, you know.”

  “And is that what you want, Tom? To feel important? Maybe to someone like Piper?”

  Tom huffed. “And what would you know about her, anyway?”

  I gave him my best shrug, given that I was still quite immobile. “More than you, I’d wager. She’s worried about you, you know.”