by Flynn, Mac
My eyes widened when I beheld the ink swirl and reform. The smears changed to letters, and the letters formed words to create a note. Vince tilted the paper and silently read the note. He finished and frowned.
"Well, what does it say?" I asked him.
Vince's gaze turned to Lynn. "Did you read the contents?" he asked the old man.
Lynn grinned and showed off the few teeth left in his head. "Yep. Every word is as clear as day, I made sure of that." Vince tilted his head down and his glasses slid down his nose. He made eye contact with Lynn, but the old man just glared at him. "Don't you go trying that stupid vampire stuff on me. I've made sure I'm guarded against something as stupid as hypnosis."
Vince frowned and raised his head to his glasses slipped back into place. "I see," he commented as he stuffed the document into his jacket. "What of your shoelaces?"
"My shoelaces?" Lynn returned. He glanced down at his feet. "I'm wearing slippers, you-" Vince dove forward and sank his teeth into the old man's wrinkled neck. Lynn's eyes widened and the old man's scream came out as a garbled gasp. His cane clattered to the ground and his hands flailed in the air above him and Vince's back.
"Vince!" I protested.
The attack was over in a moment. Lynn's arms fell limp by his sides and his head lolled back. His eyes closed and his breathing evened. Vince raised his head and showed off two deep puncture wounds on Lynn's neck.
"What'd you do that for?" I questioned him as he set Lynn on the floor.
"For our protection, and his own," Vince replied as he stood over the limp man. Lynn still breathed, but in a shallow sort of way. "He knew the location of Bat, and if Ruthven is following our trail then such information would have been tortured from him. Now he won't awaken for some days, and that will bide us some time. Also, I was hungry."
My mouth dropped open as Vince strode past me. "Don't you have a conscience? You just drained an old man dry!" I reminded him.
Vince paused at the door and turned to me. "I will leave the conscience to you. Now we must find Bat." He left, and I threw my arms up in the air.
"Great, I get the dirty job of being a psycho's conscience," I quipped as I followed him.
Chapter 6
Vince stopped outside so I could catch up. "Where is Bat, anyway?" I asked him.
"The note said he would be where Tim was most fond of being," Vince told me.
I furrowed my brow. "Where Tim was most-oh! The barnyard where we buried him!"
Vince nodded. "Yes, but we must return to our vehicle. I don't have enough energy to carry you over that distance."
I put my hands on my hip and glared at him. "What are you implying, that I'm fat?"
"No, that the old alchemist was a dry drink and didn't satiate my hunger," Vince explained.
I cringed and stuck out my tongue. "I didn't need to imagine that flavor in my mouth."
"It is far worse to have the taste in one's mouth, but we must hurry. The sun won't pause for us to waste time," Vince advised.
We hurried through the streets and alleys as fast as our energies would allow which wasn't as fast as I hoped. I, too was depleted of energy. Also, our car sat half the city away. In half that distance I was exhausted. We were in the business district when I stumbled and fell against an alley wall. My stomach rumbled and my body begged for sustenance. The streets to our right were alive with people throbbing with blood. I watched them walk by the mouth of the alley and licked my lips. Just a little bite, a little taste of their life, that's all I asked. I stumbled towards the bright lights and vibrant life. Just a drop, a smidgen of life fluid, I told myself. Nothing that would kill anybody.
A hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. My back was slammed against the brick wall to my right and I winced at the pain of the tiny, rough bits of brick. Vince was my assailant, and he clamped his strong hands on my shoulders and pinned me to the wall.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled at him.
"If you drink blood you will lose more of your humanity," he told me.
My mouth twisted with disbelief. "But you had me drinking that damn stuff before!"
"That was before most of your life was extinguished. Now you must control the hunger," he insisted.
I cringed. The hunger gnawed at me like a starving wolf. Just a few yards away walked my satiation. Only a bite, that's it. "Not even a little bite?" I whimpered.
Vince leaned down and his glasses slid down his nose. His red eyes looked into mine and I was pinned by his gaze. "Liz, be my conscience. Don't let yourself walk the same road as I. Not yet. Not until we see if the only roads you can travel are death, or undeath." I tried to look away from his beautiful dark eyes, but he grasped my chin between his fingers and kept my eyes turned to him. His voice was a soft whisper like a quiet spring day. "Please."
I closed my eyes and shuddered. The hunger raged inside me, but Vince's voice cut through like a hot knife through butter, a comparison that didn't help all that much. I ground my teeth together and nodded. "All right, but we'd better get this over quick or your cricket is going to become a carnivore," I warned him.
I opened my eyes and saw Vince was smiling. "Then let us hurry, and take the less-traveled paths."
I yelped when Vince swept me into his arms. He bent his knees and pushed straight up from the ground. I clutched his neck as we left the ground far beneath us. "Did I ever mention I don't like heights?" I yelled at him.
"No, but I will make a note of that for later," he replied.
"How about-now?" My last word came out as we landed atop the roof of the four-story building by which we'd just stood. I looked around the rooftop and saw the city spread out in front of us. Vince trotted towards the edge of the roof. Across the alley lay another building top. My eyes widened when Vince quickened his speed. "Vince, don't do it. Afraid of heights, remember? Vince? Vince!"
I nearly strangled him, but instead I let out a long, piercing scream as Vince pushed off from the raised border around the roof. We sailed across a dozen feet of empty space and hit the opposite roof running. I shut my eyes and hugged myself to his cold but soothing chest. The wind whipped past us and blew my hair into my face.
"Did I ever mention you're really annoying?" I shouted at the vampire.
"Perhaps a time or two," he admitted.
"Well, here's another time. You're really-AH!" I'd risked opening my eyes at the worst possible moment when Vince took another running leap to the adjoining roof. We landed safely on the other side and were making good progress across the city. "Are you trying to get us killed?" I shouted at him.
"No, I am trying to get us across the city with as little difficulty and in as little time as possible," he returned as we swept across the rooftops.
"If you don't get us down I'm going to kill you!" I growled.
"Very well." Vince jumped over the side of a rooftop and I saw there was a wide street beneath us, too wide to jump across. Traffic zoomed by in both directions and a few pedestrians walked the streets.
I clutched onto Vince and buried my face in his coat as we dropped like two stones to the ground. Vince landed on both feet and bent his knees to lessen the impact. He pushed off from the ground and across the street, zigging and zagging between speeding cars. I winced, cringed, prayed, whimpered, and begged for Vince to be beaned by a passing side mirror, but he was too agile. We reached the safety of the other side of the street and paused.
I clutched my heart and glared at him. "All right, that's enough. Put me dooowwwn!" Vince jumped in the air and landed on top of the roof, and we restarted his terrifying fun-run. I glared up at him and narrowed my eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of being an ass?" I snapped at him.
"No."
"Ugh. . ." I muttered, and settled myself in for a long and death-defying ride.
Somehow we survived his madness and in a few minutes Vince dropped us off a roof for the last time. Our car sat by the manhole that led to the underground, and Vince set me down. My legs wobbled beneat
h my feet, but the trip had killed some of my appetite. Now I just wanted to throw up. "Remind me never to fly Air Vince again," I told him.
"We must hurry. The night is growing late and-"
"And you need to stay right where you are," a voice spoke up. Officer Romero emerged from the shadows behind our car.
In one of his hands was a leash, and at the end of the least was Brutus, his zombie dog. Brutus curled his lips back and snarled at Vince. Romero snapped his fingers and two dozen officers emerged from the alleys, trashcans, and even from mailboxes, or at least parts of them emerged from mailboxes. Other parts emerged from overturned cardboard boxes and anything else laying around.
Vince pushed me behind him and frowned. "You don't understand what you're doing," he warned the officer.
"I don't, but you're going to help me do that down at headquarters," Romero insisted.
Vince froze and his head snapped up. "Duck!" he yelled and pushed me to the ground.
I felt a wind pass over us and looked up in time to see shadows flit over us. Doppelganger shadows. The creatures sailed through the air like dark kites and sliced their bodies through the bodies of the zombies. The officers fell to pieces under the pressure and their limbs, heads, and torsos stacked high on the ground. The doppelgangers slipped into the shadows of the night only to reemerge like boomerangs of destruction to repeat their attack.
Romero and a few others who listened to Vince were unscathed, and Romero loosed Brutus from his leash. The zombie dog leapt forward and caught its strong jaws around one of the flying shadows. The doppelganger cried out in fury as it was dragged to the ground. Brutus shook his head and whipped the shadow wildly about himself. The zombie officers fired their guns and hit a few of the creatures. The bullets flew through their targets and created small holes that quickly filled in again with shadow.
"Get the blood!" Romero ordered his men.
Vince grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the car. Behind and around us the officers tried to regroup their bodies and themselves. "We can't leave them!" I protested.
"We are the reason for the attack," he pointed out.
He opened the passenger door and flung us both inside with him on the bottom and me on his chest. Outside the car the battle continued, and blood was added to the destructive mix. The officers sprayed the lamb's blood through the air and if the blood hit its target the skin of the doppelganger fizzled and smoked. The creatures of darkness screamed and flew faster through the air.
Vince scooted from beneath me and into the driver's seat. He started up the car and punched the gas.
We flew from the battle, and the battle flew with us.
Chapter 7
The doppelgangers abandoned their attack on the Parasquad and launched themselves at our car. They attached their shadow claws to the roof and sides, and climbed their way forward to the front of the car.
"Hold on!" Vince shouted at me as he spun the steering wheel sharply to the left.
His warning didn't give me enough time to obey, and I tumbled against my door. In the side mirror I saw the shadows hold on and their shadowy bottoms flailed in the air behind them. They were like homicidal streamers around the car as Vince took another sharp turn, this time to the right. I yelped and tumbled into his side.
"Are you trying to get them off or me out?" I shouted at him.
"The glove compartment!" he yelled back.
"I don't think that's going anywhere!" I growled.
Vince spun the wheel so I toppled back onto my side of the car. He pointed a finger at the glove compartment on my side of the vehicle. "In there!" he shouted.
I dove for the box and opened it. Inside were half a dozen spray bottles filled with blood. "Oh, right, I knew that," I quipped as I pulled out one of the weapons.
A doppelganger slammed its face against my window and opened its wide mouth. The mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth and it made a horrible screech like nails on chalkboards. I rolled down my window and stuck the nozzle in its mouth. "Bottoms up!" I yelled as I sprayed a healthy dose of the blood into its gullet.
The creature screamed and clawed at its mouth, losing its grip in the process and falling from the vehicle. One down, a dozen more to go. I stuck my head out the window and looked backwards. The others clawed their way forward, undeterred by Vince's homicidal driving. I stuck my head back in and looked to my partner. "Don't make any sharp turns!" I ordered him.
He raised an eyebrow. "What are you-" I didn't let him finish as I climbed out the window and onto the running board beneath my door.
I clung to the side with one hand while the other held the full spray bottle. The wind whipped at my hair and clothes, and the car bumped along the road and rattled my body and my grip. The doppelgangers saw me and climbed their way towards me. I sprayed the first unwary few and they dropped like their first companion, but the others hissed and backed off. I shuffled along the running board and pointed the spray at the crowd.
Something grabbed my ankle and pulled. I yelped, and hugged the rear door handle and risked a look down. A doppelganger lay beneath the car, and his hand was wrapped around my ankle. I leaned down and sprayed his hand, and doused myself in the process. A terrible burning erupted on my skin. It was as though tiny animals chewed and pulled at my flesh, tearing it from my body. I let out a horrible scream that mimicked the doppelganger as it fell from the car and was ran over by the rear tire. The bottle slipped from my hand and also fell beneath the wheel.
The doppelgangers saw my weakness and dove at me with their claws splayed. I held my ring above me and one of the creatures stuck their nose over the trinket. The ring glowed a brilliant blue light as I focused on creating a small barrier. The unfortunate doppelganger screamed and burst into a thousand tiny shadow fragments that were swept away by the wind around the fast-moving car. The barrier of light covered the top of me and kept away the beasts. I ground my teeth together and focused all my thoughts and strength on creating the icicles like Vince and I had done with Astaroth. The crystal-clear daggers pushed forth from the top of the barrier, and the doppelgangers scattered backwards. I launched the icicles and, like homing devices, they flew from the barrier and stuck themselves into the chests of the creatures where there should have been a heart.
The doppelgangers screamed and batted at the blue daggers. The crystal spread over their bodies and encased them in the transparent blue glass. Our foes lost their grip and fell from the vehicle to shatter on the road behind us. I dropped my arm and clung to the side of the vehicle. My whole body shook from the effort of using the ring, and from the pain in my ankle. I didn't have the strength to pull myself inside.
Vince coasted the car to a stop and flew out my door. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me from the vehicle. I fell into him and cried out when I leaned too much weight on my ankle. Vince swept me into his arms and carried me to a nearby alley. He set my rear down on a box and knelt in front of me to inspect my wound. His long fingers pulled my pants up and my sock down. Even his careful touch made me wince.
"How bad is it?" I hissed.
He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Not good."
I chanced a glance and winced. My skin bubbled like that of the doppelgangers and there were inch-deep holes where I could see a hint of bone. "Ouchie. . ." I whimpered.
Vince stood and looked around. His eyes fell on darkness behind a nearby dumpster. He dove forward and his hand whipped into the darkness. I heard a squeak and a small crack, and he pulled forth the body of a rat. Vince returned to me and held out the creature to me. "Drink this."
I leaned away and stuck out my tongue. "Um, no, but thanks-"
"Drink it, or the lamb's blood will spread," he warned me.
I winced, and reluctantly took the filthy rat from Vince. Its fur was matted, and it hung limp in my hand. I closed my eyes and chomped down on its little body with fangs that stretched from my mouth. The warm blood flowed smoothly into my mouth, invigorating me with its life energy. A
blanket of warmth filled me with a heat I didn't realize my body no longer possessed. I grasped the rat in both hands and gobbled up every drop of blood from its little life.
When I knew it was dry I pulled the rat away and looked down at its thin form. Dead and drained. Past the rat I could see and feel as my skin knitted itself back together. The bubbles disappeared and the holes filled themselves in. Vince took the rat from me and tossed it into the darkness. He offered his hand to me.
"We must hurry. Bat may move on if he feels there is a danger to himself," he warned me.
I raised my shaking hand and grasped his. He pulled me to his feet and against himself. I meant to push away from him, but my fingers grasped the front of his coat and I buried my face in the fabric to stifle a sob. I was a monster, a creature of blood. If I needed proof it was with the lamb's blood.
"Why? Why is this happening to me?" I sobbed.
Vince wrapped his arms around me and pressed me close to him. "The night isn't over yet," he reminded me.
"No, not this one, or the next one, or a thousand other nights and no day," I countered.
His slender fingers reached up and stroked my hair. "I. . .I will not allow you to become as I am. We will find Bat and learn how to rid yourself of the ring."
I sniffled and looked into his face. "But what about you? What happens if I get rid of my ring?"
He shrugged. "We will see. Perhaps nothing, perhaps I will be destroyed, but we will never know unless we find Bat, and the night is waning."
I pushed away from him and wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Yeah, I guess we'd better get going." Vince led me to the car and, sans doppelgangers, we resumed our journey.
The roads on which Vince took us led us through the city and out into the country. In a few minutes I beheld the sight of a large, old barn. In the middle of the barnyard was the blackened remains of a hot fire. Tim's burial spot. Vince parked the car beside the charred pit and we stepped out.