by Byron Thorne
“Did you come here to kill me?” he asked without a hint of anger.
“Yeah,” Jules remarked simply. She felt a twinge of regret for something she hadn't even done yet. It must have been manufactured by the vampire, some side effect of the blood or his presence.
“I see. That's what I had gathered, but I just wanted to be sure. Well, should we get on with it then?” he asked.
Jules was thrown for a loop. “Here? In front of all these people?”
“Would you rather we take it outside?”
“Yeah, I would, actually.”
“Very well, after you,” Morgan whispered.
Jules might have been a rookie, but she wasn't stupid. “I'll follow you, Morgan,” she said and found herself liking how his name felt on her lips.
“Very well,” Morgan stood up and walked towards the back of the room. “There's a service exit over here, it shouldn't be too crowded out back.”
Jules followed behind him but stayed out of arm's reach. Daniel had made it clear how fast they could move, but the space made her feel more comfortable nonetheless. The door swung open to a back alley, full of garbage bags and not much else. On one side was a fence coated with barbed wire. A dead end. On the other, at the long end, was the street, escape. If she had to run, she'd never make it.
“Well, here we are,” Morgan raised his hands as though he was presenting the battleground. “Forgive me if I say that I'm a little disappointed at how our first meeting has turned out.” He walked towards the brick wall, and Jules took the opportunity to unholster the crossbow while his back was to her.
“I just thought maybe-”
Jules cut him off mid-sentence by pulling the trigger as he turned around. She hit him, though evidently not where she wanted to because he kept talking.
“Hey, you shot me! Ow!”
The wooden bolt was lodged firmly in the vampire's abdomen, about six inches off the mark. It wasn't her finest shot. Fortunately, it had gone clean through into the wall behind him, rendering Morgan immobile for the time being.
“You're just lucky I missed,” Jules growled as she pulled the knife from her boot and walked towards the vampire. He looked to be mostly disabled by immense pain. Jules guessed wood really did the trick. She'd never truly hurt someone before, at least physically, aside from sparring with Daniel and that one fight she had in elementary school. She had gotten herself this far, though. The pleasure was no longer there. But her resolve still was.
“And here I thought we were getting along so well.”
“Maybe you should just save it.”
“Don't I get one last request?”
“After what you did to me, I don't owe you anything.”
“Could you please at least elaborate for me what I have done to deserve your cruel brand of justice?”
“Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Unless maybe it was so meaningless you've forgotten. Well, I haven't.” She had practiced the speech in her head so many times in the past. There was always emotion there, mixed in with the memories and the desire for revenge. Now that the moment was here, it was magnified. She wouldn't cry this time.
“Trust me, I would remember meeting someone like you,” Morgan said, his voice wavering slightly, “so I'm afraid you might have me confused with someone else. Although I am a bit jealous he got your full attention.”
“Not me. The love of my life. You took him from me, and for a year I wished you would have just killed me instead. It took me so long to learn that it was you that deserves to die. You, not me. So this is for him.”
Jules’ hand shook as it clutched the knife. She moved closer to Morgan, who didn’t appear to be going anywhere other than the wall. Could she really go through with it?
“I think you've got me mixed up, darling,” he said. “That’s a terrible story, but I didn’t kill your lover. Couldn’t have been me. I’m only just off the wagon, understand?”
“No…I don’t understand.”
“I know what it’s like to have your life taken away from you,” Morgan whispered, and Jules found herself staring into his gray eyes. “I know that the pain never really leaves, and I know that feeling that’s always lurking beneath the surface, just under the rest of your thoughts.”
Jules didn’t know why, but she believed this man. Perhaps she would have believed anything he said. She also wanted to know more, or maybe she just wanted to continue to hear his velour voice. It was the only thing she felt now. The energy coming off his body was magnetic and it pulled her closer, and his eyes gripped her tightly and kept her there. Somewhere in her mind, a small voice told her to stop, to resist. The rest of her body wouldn’t listen. It screamed with desire, and she was ready to give in.
“Let me be your remedy,” Morgan breathed into her ear, “and you can be mine.”
Morgan came off of the wall and left the arrow planted behind him. He ran his hand across her cheek and through her jet black hair, towards the back of her head. The chill of his touch made her skin tingle all over, and Jules felt his fingers in her hair, pulling her head back. In that moment she was helpless to him. He brought his lips close to hers and they hovered there for a breath or two and in that moment Jules thought if she had to wait any longer she was going to lose her mind. Unless, of course, she already had.
Then, Morgan kissed her. She closed her eyes and let the feeling envelop her. It was her first physical connection with anyone since she had been with Sam. Now, a wave of passion was breaking down a wall within her. It didn’t satisfy her. It only made her want more. Morgan, though, had other plans. He took his lips away from hers and moved them just beneath her ear. He tasted her, and the coolness of his tongue on her skin made Jules shiver lightly.
First, she felt his tongue move lower, then it stopped in the middle of her neck. She gasped gently as his teeth went into her, and the sensation would have made her go limp if Morgan wasn’t holding her. The two of them were locked together, and for a moment Jules felt complete, like her half had finally been made whole. She could feel the blood leaving her, but the pleasure that Morgan left behind was more than enough to make up for it. Besides, the pain was long gone, replaced by nothing but ecstasy and love for this beautiful creature.
10
Looking Out For You
Daniel felt bad about leaving Jules in her apartment, all by herself. Depressed and alone. It’s what she said she wanted, though. Even if he thought he knew what was best for her, when Jules made up her mind it was tough to argue. If he had kept a running tab on won arguments with Jules, well, he wouldn’t need much space on his ledger. Still, maybe he shouldn’t have just walked out on her like that.
Oh well. At least she was safe inside of her apartment and didn’t insist on tagging along for a hunting trip. Daniel was running out of excuses to give her for why they had yet to see action. In fact, he knew the charade wouldn’t last much longer. But he could never put her in that kind of danger. All the strong will in the world is worth just about nothing against a cold-blooded killer. If he ever told Jules that he never actually intended for her to encounter a vampire- well, her reaction would not be good. There had to be another way, some way to talk her out of it.
Daniel always found a way to worry about Jules, even when there were more dangerous issues staring him right in the face. In this case, he had to pull his attention away from what Jules was up to- she would be fine- and instead, focus on how he was going to sneak up on this vamp. It had been easy enough for him to track. This one had wild eyes that stood out from the rest of its pale skin. The shaved head was new. Apparently, all vampires didn’t get their haircuts from the same salon. Now he just needed to close the gap between them. He also needed to separate it from the human girl it had selected, as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, any plans for retaining the element of surprise went right out the window when he witnessed the vampire moving in for the kill. The three of them were alone in that alley, and Daniel was about to make hi
s presence known. Just once he wanted to make a heroic entrance, maybe swing in on a chandelier, ready for action while simultaneously impressing the very ladies he was there to protect. Instead, he had to be satisfied with a kind of unrequited job satisfaction. The poor woman was definitely under the influence of the vamp’s gaze, so when Daniel came running around the corner shouting “Let go of her!” she must have been more terrified than impressed.
The vampire took one look at the gun, dropped the woman, and booked it into the nearby warehouse. Daniel knew she’d be fine after a few minutes, and would probably even forget this whole thing happened. It was a thankless job, but somebody had to do it. He chased the vamp inside the building and dropped the rolling metal door behind him, turning the whole place into his own personal battleground.
It lumbered towards him, lacking that fluid grace that most of the vampires Daniel faced possessed. Based on the vamp’s aggressive and unhinged fighting style, Daniel figured he must not have been turned too long ago. The guy seemed to not possess full control over his limbs, almost like a fawn, only this one had razors for teeth and nails to match.
The vampire took a wild swing at him, but Daniel saw it coming and jumped out of the way. He began to backpedal, keeping his eye on the vamp’s sallow face. The downtown warehouse the vampire had chosen as his lair gave them plenty of open space to work in, and Daniel wanted to keep it that way. Keep the space, keep your face, that’s what he’d always said. This vamp needed blood, too, and was moving much slower because of it.
Plus, the vampire had to be young or there was no way that Daniel would have been able to track him so easily. Most of their kind had years, sometimes generations, worth of practice at making themselves scarce. Daniel could have spotted this guy from across town. Still, fresh as he might have been, he was still dangerous. It also wasn’t just a simple stake-and-sweep. Daniel needed this vampire to stay alive. At least until he got his questions answered.
The warehouse was empty of anyone else with a pulse. That meant he could use his gun, and things were so much easier when he could use his gun. The vampire ran straight at him, and he pulled the trigger. Daniel was a damn good shot, but the creature must have had some blood left in the reserve tank. It looked as though the bullet had passed right through him, but the hunter knew better. Those things could move when they needed to- fast enough so it looked like they had never moved at all.
In that brief second, the vampire had closed the gap between the two of them. It was faster than Daniel’s human reflexes could possibly respond, but he knew how to take a hit. The vampire threw his fist and clocked Daniel in his midsection, sending him skidding backwards along polished cement. The pain was worth the distance he had gained. He aimed the pistol from his position on the floor and pulled the trigger five more times in quick succession. This time, two of the bullets found their mark, lodging themselves into the bony shoulder of the vampire. The creature howled in response and thrashed around on the ground as Daniel got back to his feet.
The vamp flipped back upright but evidently decided the fight wasn’t worth the payoff and took off in the opposite direction. Daniel followed close behind the trail of lost blood. Even in its current state, the vampire was still too fast. The trail eventually ran dry. If that thing got outside, it would probably pounce on the first human it saw. He couldn’t let that happen. All he could do was slow it down and listen for any signs of the creature- it had to be hiding around one of the palettes in that place. The only ways out were the rolling metal doors in the front and back.
A stream of dark liquid fell in front of his eyes and splashed in front of his feet. He looked up, even though he knew what was coming. He fired again at the plunging creature, striking it and letting it hit the ground in front of him. It laid there, wheezing- a strange site, considering Daniel was under the impression that whatever passed as lungs inside a vamp body weren’t supposed to work.
“Hurts, don’t it?” he yelled as he stretched out his shoulder, sore from his earlier fall. “Usually save those silver bullets for the older guys, but you’re a quick one.”
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with,” the vampire hissed.
Daniel placed a boot on the creature’s chest. “Give me a little more credit,” he said and shifted some weight onto his foot. “Granted, I don’t know everything. I know what I’m dealing with. Which is…?” Unable to speak thanks to the boot, the creature growled instead. “That’s right, a bloodsucker. What I really need to know is who.”
Daniel stepped off the vampire, and it coughed on the ground. “Curtis, that’s my name. Why?”
“Well Curtis, I couldn’t care any less about your name, but thanks for the introduction. I need to know who made you. I want to know who made all of you. Shouldn’t take too long, seeing as how you’re pretty fresh out of the oven.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I went out with some nice broad a couple of weeks ago, can’t figure out why the sun looks so bright until it starts to burn me. Hey, I’m still trying to figure this stuff out, man. In fact, you let me know when you find them, cause I want a piece too, OK?”
Daniel jammed his boot back on the vampire’s chest and he winced. “Curtis, you think I found you on accident? I’m not an idiot. So do you want to help me out, and help yourself out at the same time? Or do you want to do this the hard way?” He eased the weight off again.
“I can’t tell you that. You have any idea what they’ll do to me? What they’ll do to you?”
Daniel answered with another bullet, this one in the creature’s leg. He waited for the screaming to stop. “Wrong answer, Curtis, I’m sorry. I know you’ve got a structure, some kind of hierarchy. What I need to know is who’s at the top. So, one more guess.”
“Ah, OK, OK, look. There’s a place the vamps like to hang out in Hollywood,” he coughed.
“I’m listening,” Daniel said.
“Yeah, they all get together and it’s like a buffet for ‘em. Entrance is in an alley, ok? Few blocks from Cahuenga. All the older ones will be in there. Just tell the door guy ‘wine of wine, blood of the world.’”
Daniel obliged. “Thanks, Curtis. What else do you know?”
“That’s it, now lemme go so I can get the hell out of town.”
“Not good enough, Curtis, I need a name and a face. Who’s the oldest? Who’s the head?”
“Head? Uh…”
“Don’t go quiet on me now, or I’ll make sure those were your last words.”
“Oh man… I don’t know much about him. I think his name’s Morgan, it’s his last name or something. Calls Hollywood his hunting ground, he’ll be there. If he knew I was telling you this, well, don’t mention my name. Look I gave you what you wanted, will you get off of me?”
Daniel stepped off the vampire but kept his gun trained on him. “Thanks for the info. Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna show you why you never should have let me up in the first place. I’m gonna rip you to shreds and drink the leftovers.”
Daniel had learned by now to expect that kind of a reaction. So he met the challenge head on with another silver bullet. Usually, one more bullet to a wounded young vamp would turn the whole thing into a funeral pyre. They burned brightly for about a second or two, then collapsed into a heap of grey ash- they all went out that way. This one was quick and managed to avoid its execution. The vamp shifted from fight straight to flight, and he was out the door in an instant. Daniel cursed as he watched it go. No big deal. There would be time to get him later, and at least he got the information he was after.
Even though vampires got a chance at immortality, they weren’t invincible. Fortunately for Daniel, their creation- however it was they got made- left them with some pretty glaring weaknesses. He was getting better at putting them down, thanks to some fancy new tools like silver. Aside from the sun, a simple stake worked best. Had to get up close for that, though. At range, crossbows and silver seemed to hurt them pre
tty bad. Other than that, anything that hit with the power of a dump truck mostly did the trick.
That’s how he had explained it to Jules. She had some interesting innovation ideas of her own, but she took to that crossbow more than anything else. He hoped she would never have to use it in the field. If he could finish this hunt, she wouldn’t have to. Maybe with some closure, the two of them could finally move on, together. Get out of LA. It was impossible to truly leave the hunting life, but he believed the two of them could do it together. If he could just convince her…maybe an urn full of Morgan’s ashes might do the trick.
Daniel took a moment to collect his thoughts. Morgan. The name didn’t sound all that familiar. The story did fit with the lead he and Jules had received from the Hunter’s Den. That meant he was on the right track. Now he just needed to tighten his search.
11
Babysitter
First, he needed to check on Jules and see if she was feeling any better. Sometimes, the poor girl just needed some time by herself. Daniel just had to remind himself that it was nothing personal. Best case scenario: he gave her space, so she should be fine by now. Worst case scenario, she took the time to get reacquainted with vodka. It always did make her feel better, until it always made her feel worse.
Daniel opened the door to the Nova and fired up the engine. All in all, it was a pretty successful hunt. Saved a girl, got what he came for, and no one even called the cops. Guess that was one of the big advantages to hunting downtown, it was pretty dead in the middle of the night.
At first, Daniel suggested hunting as a way for Jules to fill the time with something other than going out and drinking. He just kind of threw the idea out there and wasn’t sure how she would respond. He still remembered how her eyes lit up when he brought it up. It didn’t take long for her to dive in head first. Before long, she became even more intense about it than she was, almost to the point of obsession. He knew she viewed it as a way to fill the gap in her life. Daniel just wished she would fill the hole with him instead- even if they were spending more time together.