by Lucas Thorn
“Don’t worry about us,” Everett said smoothly. “It’s like Charlie said. His Lordship was clear. We’re to do what we can.”
Charlie nodded. “Good man, His Lordship.”
“Generous man,” Everett said.
“Very generous.” Charlie patted his hip pocket. “We ain’t about to disappoint him.”
Everett nodded. “Ain’t worth disappointing him.”
“But we’re still thinking there’s too many policemen.”
“Best to come back another night,” Everett said. “When it’s quiet. Get in and out real quick.”
“That’s how we like it.”
“Real quiet like. Always worked for us before.”
“And I told you,” Van Helsing growled. “We don’t have the luxury of time.”
“Heard you say that,” Charlie said.
“Heard it,” Everett confirmed.
Charlie tugged at his earlobe. “But what we don’t get is, His Lordship said you followed her all the way down from Whitby ages ago. Week, was it? Or a month? And she’s still alive. All snug and cosy in her little townhouse there.”
Everett tutted. “Not destroyed.”
“I don’t see what you’re getting at,” Harker said.
Max showed a grin. “Course you don’t. You wouldn’t.” Then, into Harker’s scowl; “They think you’re useless, Harker. That they could do the job better without you. Can’t say I blame them for thinking that.”
“The thought had occurred,” Charlie said with an approving glance at Max.
“No offence,” Everett put in. “But it’s not exactly warming our cockles to know you’ve all been sitting around doing nothing. Or, worse, doing something and getting nothing.”
“Ain’t exactly got us excited.”
“And we like His Lordship’s money.”
“It’s good money. Always fresh coin. Clean and polished.”
“And neat notes. Crisp and tidy.”
“We’d like to live to spend it.”
“Best thing about money, really,” Everett said. “Spending it. Right, Max?”
“Can’t argue that.”
“You’re a good man, Max. I’d have you on my right any time.”
“Solid gentleman, you are, Max,” Charlie affirmed. “And Wesley’s got his handle, I reckon. Looks a man who knows the right end of a gun and treats his trigger with respect.”
“But you three?” Everett tutted through pursed lips. “You look the sort to muck things up in a pinch. Kind who belong back round the fire at the Club. Warming yourselves with a brandy.”
“Nothing wrong with brandy,” Charlie said.
“Never said there was.”
“Look, I’ve got an idea,” Charlie said brightly. “Why don’t you lot wait here? All tucked up and safe. Like the right little noble gentlemen you are. Have a cigar.”
“Yeah,” Everett said. Offered a look of admiration at the idea. “Have a cigar and talk about ponies.”
“Or fox hunting.”
“Poor foxes.”
“Never understood it. But you upright gentlemen might.”
“Anyway, you can stay here. We’ll look after the business.”
“Let us do our job.”
“We’re very good at it.”
“The best.”
“It’s why His Lordship hired us.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Harker said, gaze switching from man to man. “What actual experience have you had hunting vampires? Do you even know what she’s capable of?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised what we’ve been through, lad.” Charlie smiled in a fatherly way. “Don’t be offended. Each to his own and all. But this looks like it’s going to be a bloody difficult one. And you really don’t look the kind of chap who could hold his water. And it’s important. Your grandfather there told you. The country’s depending on us. You’ll only be in the way. If it helps, you can call yourself a General. Tell your friends at the Club you led the sortie or some shit like that.”
“Sortie.” Everett nodded. “I like that.”
“It’s a military word,” Charlie said. “All the high and mighty types like it.”
“Very impressive.”
Max shuffled his feet. “Wouldn’t hurt, Abraham. We’d get in faster.”
“I need to be there,” Doctor Seward said. “At the end. I want to be.”
“This ain’t a reunion, old man,” Charlie said.
Everett smiled. “Nor a family gathering.”
“It’s not even Christmas.”
“Or Easter,” Everett said.
“Almost Sunday, though,” Charlie said. “Give him that.”
“Alright. But it’s not Sunday yet.”
“No.” Charlie’s eyes didn’t blink. “Not yet. Stay here, Doctor. We’ll bring what’s left of her out and you can have a proper pray for her soul.”
Everett adjusted his collar. “And a cry. We won’t judge.”
“If he feels like it, sure.”
“I’m not letting you touch her,” Doctor Seward hissed. “If she’s to be destroyed, it will be me who does it. You hear me, Abraham? Not you. Not Harker. Certainly not these bloody mercenaries. It will be me.”
“Mercenaries?” Everett frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It means we’re hired by His Lordship is all,” Charlie said. “Another military word which impresses the meek. Ain’t anything to do with mercy.”
“Oh.”
Max put a hand on Doctor Seward’s shoulder. “You know me, John. If I promise to look after her, will you stay?”
“Max…”
“Please, Doctor. If one of us gets killed, it’s best it wasn’t you.”
“I-”
“Then it’s settled,” Everett said. Clapped his hands softly before rubbing them together to pull some warmth. “You fine fellows sit back and relax. Let the workers do their bit, eh?”
“Right,” Charlie said. Thumped his chest. “Workers. That’s us. Salt of the earth and all that.”
Harker’s face pulled into a sneer. “I look forward to seeing how you get into the house, then, worker.”
“Do you, lad? Do you?” Everett stared back with reptilian calm. The kind of calm which conveyed as much mockery as he could without being overt. “He wants to see how we’re getting in, Charlie.”
“I heard.” He looked to Max and Wesley. “You ready to leg it?”
“Run?” Harker scoffed. “That’s your big plan? You’re just going to run? I mean, that’s ridiculous. The fog is thick, on that we agree, but they’ll still see you. Come on, Abraham. Put a stop to this nonsense immediately.”
Van Helsing kept his eyes on Everett. “You have something more in mind, I presume?”
“He presumes,” Charlie said with a roll of his eyes.
“He does indeed.” Everett’s expression remained as cool as before. “And, as Charlie here was asking, you two think you can leg it?”
“Yeah,” Max said. “We can.”
“Stick tight to Charlie, alright? He’ll lead the way. I’ll take the rear.”
“He likes the rear,” Charlie said with a wink.
“Never trust a man who says he doesn’t,” Everett said.
“I never do.”
“Good Lord,” Harker sighed. “This is a shambles.”
Charlie shook his head. Tried sympathy but looked insincere. “Shambles, he says.”
“Shambles,” Everett echoed. “Here. Any of you lot met Atticus?”
“Atticus?” Harker looked at Van Helsing, who stood motionless.
Charlie shrugged. Lifted a hand about shoulder high. “Yeah. Greek fellow. About this height? Bit bushy about the face?”
“Bushier below the neck,” Everett said.
“Is he? I never looked.”
“Like a bear, he is.”
Charlie kept smiling at the others. “Well, his name’s not really Atticus. We just call him that.”
“He’s good with h
orses,” Charlie explained.
“Can get the cranky bastards to do anything.”
Harker kneaded his brow. Sighed. “I can’t believe we’ve been lumped with you two. Enough, I say. Enough of this farce. We had a plan. Let’s stick to that.”
Charlie tutted. “Yeah, well. About that. The thing is. It was, well…”
“Shit.” Everett leaned and spat beside his feet. “Real shit.”
“Yeah. We talked about it. And we agreed. Absolute shit.”
“Rubbish.”
“Awful. Far too complicated. I mean, talking to the police? Distracting them with a cup of tea? Feeding them lines about seeing a bunch of rapscallions up the road and hoping they’d swallow it with the tea? No, thank you. They’re not the most amusing fellows in London.”
“They’re downright boring,” Everett said.
“And that bit about going over the fence of number twenty-two?”
“They’ll be watching it like hawks.” Everett finally grinned. “We think number twenty six is is much better. More cover down the side. Besides, I’d like to see you all get over a fence before morning.”
“Exactly. We don’t think you’re up to it.” At Charlie’s smirk, Harker’s face went dark and he took a half-step before Charlie put a hand out. “Now, lad. Don’t be disagreeable. You’re a man used to fine things. Not dirty fences.”
“Fine things?” Max snorted. “He spends most nights in the beds of cheap whores.”
“Cheap?” Everett raised an eyebrow. “Well, each to their own.”
“Yeah.” Charlie shrugged. “Not our place to judge where privileged folk go slumming.”
“Not our place,” Everett agreed. “But we’ll judge his climbing ability.”
“Of course. Climbing up to the second floor of the vampire’s lair? That made us laugh. Easier to go through the door. Just need to pick the lock.”
“It takes too long,” Harker snarled.
“Too long?” Charlie looked at him in horror. “Why, lad, I could pick the lock of any house in this street before you had time to say that again. But, of course, we need to be fast, so I’ll be letting Everett do it. He’s younger.”
“Two years younger.”
“Makes you half a word quicker.”
“All we need.”
“Exactly.”
“And her bodyguards?” Harker almost stamped his foot in frustration as he watched everything slide from his grasp. As the thrill of hunting vampires began to seep from his gut. “You’ve seen them? You can’t handle them alone.”
“And you think you’d be any help?” Everett looked surprised. “Mighty fine opinion of yourself. You don’t look capable of backing it up, though. Well, Max? What do you say? Has he got the bollocks?”
“No.” Max shrugged. “Not unless we’re fighting girls. He’s good at hitting girls. Runs away from anything else.”
“I do not!”
“You ran from the Brides.”
“I had to get back to London. I had to warn everyone about Dracula!”
“Good for you,” Charlie said. “We’ll send you to Lord Salisbury if we need to get a message to him, then. Always got use for a man fleet of foot.”
“You bastards,” Harker snapped. “You’re up to something. I can tell. Why, you-”
“Enough,” Van Helsing said. “It might be prudent to divide our forces.”
“Yeah,” Everett said. “Divide forces. Right. We’ll head in first. If we ain’t good enough, then you’re free to run away again. Tactical retreat, I think they’d call it at the Club. Heard them use that one a lot.”
“Good that’s settled,” Charlie said, before Harker could finish sputtering a string of curses. “Let’s get on with it. Everett, you want to give Atticus the go ahead?”
Everett nodded and put his fingers between his lips. Let out a quick whistle. Three short and a long drawn-out drag.
Then the two men waited.
Max and Wesley checked their weapons. Tucked their coats around their bodies.
“Well?” Harker asked when only silence answered. “Now what?”
“Hold your horses, mate,” Charlie said.
“But don’t hold old Atticus’ horses,” Everett said as the clatter of wheel and clip of hooves echoed swift through the fog.
Too swift.
“No,” Charlie said. Grinned as a loud crunch of splintered wood and series of shrill cries mingled with the shrieks of panicked or wounded horses. “Don’t hold those back.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Sharp whistles and outraged shouts unsettled the night. Policemen came running from all directions. Swarming on the wagon and its spilled contents. Gathering around a dazed-looking man who was holding his head. Blood ran swiftly down a cut on his forehead and he was blinking rapid.
“What the fuck happened?”
“You were going too fast, you bloody fool,” one of the policemen hissed.
Another waved at the others floating around. “Come on, you lot. Let’s get the street cleared up.”
Lights blinked on in a few surrounded houses, the yellow glow smudging the fog.
One horse was on its side, trying to get to its feet. The other wouldn’t get up again. Bloody foam spat from its nostrils one last time and it gave a shudder as death claimed its life.
“Shit,” someone said. “Poor bastard.”
The driver still looked muddled. “What? What’s going on?”
“Get him out of here,” the first policeman said, clearly disgusted. “Come on, come on. What are you all standing around for? Need the Inspector’s say so? Don’t be daft. Move it! That means you too, Norbert. Get this shit up and away.”
Everett slapped Charlie on the back. “Go.”
The taller man didn’t need telling twice. He loped off through the fog, not too quick, but not too slow. Just a man on his way home.
That’s all.
Everett jerked a head to Max. “Off you go, you two.”
“Right,” Max said. Shot a smirk at Harker, then ducked out with Wesley at his side.
Then Everett glanced to the remaining three. “Keep a look out, won’t you?” Touched a finger under his eye. “Real sharp, like. And give us a whistle if you need help.”
“Help?” Harker snarled. “Go fuck yourself.”
“Now now, lad. That weren’t very gentlemanly.” And then he swivelled away and into the fog. Crossed the street like a cat on two legs.
Van Helsing watched them go.
His gaze thoughtful.
Slowly, wiped his face with the back of his hand. Took his hat off to comb his thin reddish-grey hair. “This operation is no longer ours,” he said slowly.
“You’ve got that right.” Harker slapped a hand against the wall. “We just let them do their own thing. Without a fight!”
“What would be the point? So long as she is destroyed, does it matter who does it?”
“Destroyed?” Doctor Seward scowled. “What happened to trying to save her, Abraham?”
“Alas, Doctor, that’s now out of our hands.”
“Is it?” And he strutted out into the street. “Don’t try to stop me, Abraham. Or you, Jonathan. Not unless you want to kill me.”
“Wait!” Harker hissed. Looked to Van Helsing. “We have to go with him.”
“No,” Van Helsing said. “No, Jonathan. Not this time. No, this time we wait, I think.”
“But you agree Lord Salisbury is up to something?”
“That much is painfully obvious.”
“Then we have to stop them!”
“Until we know what it is, we should have patience.” Van Helsing’s cold gaze remained on the murky street which had swallowed the other men. “Patience, Jonathan, reveals all. You should learn this lesson. Learn to have more control over your emotions. In some circumstances, losing control can be disastrous.”
“But-”
“Are you eager to die?”
“What?”
“It’s a simple question. Do
you want to die? The answer, I think, has been troubling the Marquess.”
Harker’s mouth opened in shock. “Are you saying he might make a bargain with these creatures?”
“In exchange for immortality?” Van Helsing’s brow creased deeply. “Why not? Lesser men have sought ways to extend their lives. Exotic ways. Vampirisim is certainly one of the easiest despite its obvious flaws.”
“Flaws?”
“Yes. An addiction to blood. Aversion to direct sunlight. Weakness to religious icons, especially the sign of the Crucifixion. Silver. Assorted herbs. There seem so many weaknesses that it’s a wonder there are people who seek it. Perhaps they think such sacrifices are worth it for longevity?”
“Cowards,” Harker said. “They should be more concerned with meeting the Lord Almighty.”
“Should they?” Van Helsing allowed a rare smile. “You misunderstand me, Jonathan. I didn’t say the search for immortality is futile. Simply that vampirisim is the most pathetic of them all.”
“There are other ways?”
“Assuredly,” the old man confirmed.
“They’d all have their weaknesses, though?”
“Yes. But they do not all turn you into an insane monster dedicated to the extermination of the human race. They do not require you to bow to a demonic entity.”
Harker shivered. Looked back out to where the others had disappeared. “You really want to wait here?”
“Yes. For now.”
“They’ve nearly got the wagon cleared from the road.”
“Atticus?”
“He looks like he’ll be fine. One of Lucy’s neighbours has brought him a chair. And some tea.”
“They didn’t invite him inside.”
“No.” Pause. “Do you think John will be alright?”
“Doctor Seward has survived countless battles. He’ll no doubt survive countless more.”
“You don’t believe that, though.”
Van Helsing gave his second rueful smile of the night. “No. No, I believe he will die trying to reach his beloved Lucy.”
“Then we should have stopped him!”
“How? And would he forgive us later? Let him go, Jonathan. When you’ve been hunting these creatures as long as I have, you’ll understand there’s just some people you can’t control. And you shouldn’t try.” He tapped a finger to his chin. “One of my rules, in fact, is to always let them go. Try only once to dissuade them. If you cannot, then it’s best to surrender to their wishes. Let them meet their doom in the manner they choose.”