Bloodlines

by Drew D'Amato

  Jericho, Michael and three other vampires—Jonas, Saul, and Rex—escorted Vlad into the building at the corner of Platt and Pearl St. in New York City—downtown New York, just a few blocks from Wall Street. The rest of the building’s floors were rented out to various financial advisor’s offices and law firms. Richard made a pretty penny in this place, and no one was here after five, which was good because their flight landed at twenty minutes after.

  The vampires walked across the marble lobby. The tiles were different colors of black and maroon with gray specks on both of them. Eight black marble pillars four on each side ran along the length of the lobby. An information desk sat to the left of the lobby. Vlad talked to the guard in uniform and with no objection the guard let them pass to the elevators on the south wall across from the main entrance on Platt St.

  The elevator rode all the way up to the penthouse on the forty-fifth floor. The doors opened up and Vlad and his five accomplices walked into the room. Like most floors in the building, windows made up what should be the outside walls for this floor. The cloudy weather outside made it so that the lights in the room had to be on. The clouds toyed with the idea of raining, but they released no drops today. A red felt pool table sat in the middle of the room. A bar sat off in the southeast corner to their right. A big screen TV hung on the north wall of the room and couches sat about ten feet from the TV. A big oak desk rested to their left in the far northwest corner. To their far right, in the northeast corner, stood one of Richard’s favorite possessions—a knight’s suit of armor from the Dark Ages. The suit stood a little over six feet tall. A few wooden rods inside held the suit up. The knight’s hands, both a little lower than the waist, were full. His left hand held a shield. The right held a sharp broadsword pointing straight up and the tip at about the height of the eyes of the helmet. A toilet flushed, water ran, and then Richard came out from a bathroom to their left on the west wall.

  Richard did not look like a regular vampire. He looked to be pushing fifty. He was bald on the top of his head, with hair like a horseshoe around the sides from temple to temple. He weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds. He wore a three-piece suit without the jacket. His hands were full with a white towel he used to dry them with. He walked toward the six of them.

  “Master,” Richard said, and put the towel in his left hand, to shake Vlad’s hand with his right.

  “Richard,” Vlad shook his hand. “Glad to see you stay sanitary to avoid germs.”

  Richard looked at the towel in his left hand and laughed. “Sorry, force of habit.”

  “Are the others here yet?” Vlad looked around the room.

  “All the heads are here with their best men: Philip, Ivan, Jennings, Williams, Francis, and Terrance.”

  “What about Malachi?” Jericho asked.

  “These things bore Malachi,” Vlad said. “And his temper is harder to control. So he gracefully declined the invitation.” Vlad turned back to Richard. “So Richard, where are they?”

  “Downstairs, getting ready. It is already past six o’clock. We will have to leave soon.”

  “How prepared are you?”

  “Armed to the teeth. The weapons are on the forty-fourth floor, where all the men are too.”

  “Good, we will use them tonight.”

  “Why, are you planning something?”

  “No, but he is. Expect it.”

  SEVEN

  1

  A caravan of five black stretch limos drove down a dirt road about four hours north of New York City, in the town of Greenwich, NY. These meetings were not held anywhere near big cities or at any glamorous hall. Greenwich had its share of cults and odd fellows, so a meeting of vampires had a better shot of not being noticed. And if they were noticed, members from a cult like The Body would have a tough time describing to the authorities some supernatural event they witnessed and being taken seriously.

  As Vlad rode in the limo and noticed the scenery, he realized this location would also be a great place for an ambush. The landscape was just farmland and a few gas stations that looked like they belonged here three decades ago. It was less than two hours before the meeting at midnight. In reality, the meeting would start as soon as both groups met.

  The limos pulled up to a dinnerhall that doubled as a basketball court, with almost no signs of life outside of the place. The doors of the cars opened simultaneously. Vlad had on his black leather jacket with a red silk shirt underneath it. His hair rested against his back, pulled in a ponytail. Jericho wore the same black leather jacket with a different black Armani shirt, and the rest of the group was also in black.

  The tables were set up earlier by the people they rented the hall from. Vlad was the host for this meeting and responsible for the preparation. The tables were nothing fancy, just thin folding tables with a thin white tablecloth over them. Folding chairs sat open at the tables. There were no servants or food anywhere. These meetings were not long events. The longest any meeting had ever lasted was half an hour, and that was the one a hundred years ago when Vlad set up the ambush.

  The hall, shaped like a rectangle, had two basketball hoops at both ends that were now cranked up to the ceiling. The smell of human body odor had lingered in here since its last use. Underneath the stowed hoops were two long tables that sat nine on one side. Above in back of the tables were balconies with bleachers. On the floor, between these two long tables were eight circular tables that sat six for the underlings to sit at, four tables for each side.

  Vlad and his men took their seats. Vlad sat in the middle of a long table on the left side of the entrance. Jericho sat to his right, Michael to his left, and the other six “heads”—aside from Richard—filling in the rest of the seats at the table. The vampire Rex walked up the balcony behind Vlad’s table to get prepared for his role in tonight’s meeting. Not a word was said, everyone sat there concentrating and waiting for the others to join.

  2

  Two hours later—a little late for Radu—around a quarter after midnight the doors to the gym opened again. Gabriel, Radu’s equivalent to Jericho, walked in first. A great fighter and loyal henchman, he walked in to check out the scene. He had brown hair back in a ponytail, and wore a dirt brown leather jacket zipped up. He was muscular for a vampire. Bodybuilding had only become a fad in the last forty years, so most of the vampires just had a normal build to their bodies. However, genetics always played a role. Gabriel was German and had a chest over fifty inches in girth, a very strong vampire. He said nothing to Vlad’s men and all of them stared at him. The meeting was about to start, and everyone prepared for anything.

  Next walked in Raki, another faithful Raduson, holding a suitcase. He was a skinny man with a thin face to him. His hair was pulled back like a Samurai with a shave underneath, which was a bold move. Vampires’ hair never grew after they were made; so many vampires kept their hair long. The sides would remain shaved until the day he died. He found the stairs that led to the balcony behind the Raduson’s set of table. He ran up them, got to the center of the bleachers across from Vlad, and opened his suitcase. Vlad’s men didn’t make it obvious but all of them were holding a handgun of some type under the table, waiting for anything funny. Radu entered next.

  Radu cel Frumos, or Radu “The Handsome” in English, as he was called in his human life, entered. He had on a long black flowing cape and his long black hair hung down in front of his head. He walked with a black cane that matched his black leather boots. His skin was whiter than Vlad’s. The white skin went well with the smooth contours of his face. He turned to his left and walked to his table, keeping his eyes on Vlad. He looked younger than Vlad. He should. As a human he was Vlad’s younger brother.

  Radu was in the crosshairs of Rex, who stood on the balcony above Vlad. The red laser sight was positioned right in the middle of his chest. This didn’t concern Radu. Vlad also sat in the crosshairs of an assassin. In the balcony behind Radu, Raki had put together his sniper rifle, a Mauser SP66 equipped with laser sight, scope a
nd a bi-pod that was in the suitcase. If anything out of the ordinary happened the assassins would shoot first and ask questions later. This was the custom of the meetings to prevent any funny business. Mutually assured destruction, both leaders sat with a gun pointed at their hearts. Radu’s men followed in behind him and took their seats. Radu kept standing.

  “Brother,” Radu said.

  “Brother,” Vlad replied as he stood up in respect.

  “Now, last time I checked, Europe is mine and North America is yours.”

  “Yes, I am aware.”

  “So do you need to be reminded that London, is on the continent of Europe?”

  The custom of these meetings had always been to start if off by announcing any disputes or transgressions to any agreements. Also no one could talk except Radu and Vlad to show loyalty and respect. So the other vampires sat quietly, looking at the vampires opposite them with cold stares, waiting for anything to happen—some hoping something would. The vibes inside the place were like an interracial marriage between two families, and one family was comprised of mostly Black Panther members, and the other made up of the Ku Klux Klan. Pure Hatfield and McCoys between these two groups. They hated each other and their looks expressed it.

  Vlad responded. “And do you need to be reminded that at the last meeting we agreed not to get involved in international disputes, and yet you gave a generous check to an Islamic fundamental group?”

  “Islam-Christian, Communist-Capitalist, it is still always East versus West with us isn’t it brother? But Hizb ut-Tahir is not a violent group. Think of it as donating a check to a church or a religious politician. Trust me, we don’t want any country in the Middle East getting nukes either. I’m actually trying to encourage the non-violent groups over the violent ones. I don’t think this is a break in our agreement?”

  “No, nor do I think our investigation into this matter with you and HT is a breach on our side.”

  “Fair enough, no reparations need be paid from either side. Now, what else is on the agenda?”

  “This next subject is one both bloodlines should be concerned with. It is something we also learned on our latest trip to Europe.”

  “I’m intrigued, and what is this?”

  Vlad took a pause before he spoke again. “The Crusaders have discovered the coffer, and the contents inside have remained intact.”

  “And you can corroborate it how?” Radu asked.

  “We spoke to a Crusader while in a trance. As you know a human cannot lie to us. I will be prudent with the rest of the information we gathered until I am sure of where you stand on this issue. But do you not feel this information affects us very deeply?”

  “How so? So they have the Dark Bible, good luck in translating it. And if they do, it only tells them about us, which most of the information they are already aware of.”

  “The coffer is not just the Dark Bible.” Vlad hesitated. “It also contains the Blood of the Betrayer.”

  “You told me you destroyed that.” Radu did not hide the anger in his voice.

  “I thought I had done just as much. Something that sacred is too hard to destroy. Who would think hundreds of years ago men would be able discover something buried at the sea.”

  “It could wash up.”

  “Radu, for the almost two hundred years when we carried around the blood, neither of us were able to destroy it. You know how valuable it is. Don’t appear so shocked that I couldn’t have destroyed it myself.”

  Radu paused. “So what? So they have the blood, they have the power. But they probably will not do anything unless they have the Dark Bible translated. How are they going to do that?”

  “Apparently they are working on that now. Soon enough the power and the knowledge will both be in their hands.”

  Radu took a moment to gather himself. He seemed worried, but not as concerned as Vlad had expected. It was as if part of him had welcomed it. “Maybe these new vampires will turn my way.”

  “Why would they listen to you or me? They will just be another enemy for both of us to face. We must stop them.”

  “Well wouldn’t this be easier if we just aligned our forces?”

  There was a pause. The silent tension was tangible. The underlings played a game of visual tennis shifting from Radu to Vlad and then back again. The silence continued and Vlad’s eyes make it clear that he would not respond to this request.

  Radu started again, “Are you not getting tired of this, this war of ours? Should we not end it?”

  “I am tired of this war, and we should unite. But not with the plans you have for this world. Have you not yet decided to give up on trying to conquer the world?”

  “Have you not yet given up on trying to save it?” Radu replied. “This world should be ours.”

  “It is ours, but it is better allowing these humans to live their lives. They produce goods we can use. To make them just our food and slaves will produce nothing, and we will have nothing. Have you yet to understand that?”

  “You fool, as slaves they will produce everything we want. How could you have been crueler as a human than a vampire? We should not live in their shadows, we should be their sun, and they should worship us. Will you not see it my way?”

  “In all this time, have you not learned mercy, remorse?”

  “It is our nature to be cruel,” Radu said with a smile.

  There was another pause. Two different philosophies on the life to lead as a vampire came to the spotlight. Radu started again.

  “This will be the last meeting ever. Our sides will never agree. You are my enemy. The next time I see you, Vlad, it will be when I kill you.”

  Radu started to walk out. The rest of his men got up without a second thought. His men waited for him to pass them out of respect and then they followed him out. Once Radu was outside, Raki from upstairs lifted up his rifle and threw it onto the rectangle table under him where Radu had sat. This was the sign that the meeting has ended. Raki walked down the stairs. After Raki, the last one to walk out left, the others spoke.

  The underlings at the round tables started to converse with each other. Jericho spoke in Vlad’s ear, “I don’t think we should leave anytime soon.”

  “Richard and his men are outside watching him. We’ll wait until it’s clear,” Vlad responded.

  Vlad took out his cell phone and called Richard. The phone rang twice, then someone picked up.

  “Richard, is it safe?” he asked.

  “Oh hello Vlad,” Radu on the other end said. “Pity about Richard, you see the same trick you tried for your safety, we did also. Only we thought it would be safer to just kill your men before we came in. And we didn’t even make a sound, it was great.”

  “He’s dead?”

  “Oh don’t feel bad, he fought well for his life, but well—you know. So, what are you going to do? I would send something of his for you to remember him by but the funny thing about vampires, they don’t leave a trace.”

  “What the hell do you have planned?” Vlad asked.

  Radu heard the fear in his voice. He liked that. “Just an eye for an eye. You set us up at a meeting a hundred years ago, it’s time to return the favor, only I won’t fail.”

  “If you kill me you will never know about the Crusaders and what they plan do to with the coffer.”

  “Don’t need to know. I’d rather take my chances with them with you out of the picture. Do you remember brother, the time you sent twenty thousand poor peasants to their deaths? You invited them to your castle. They all felt so lucky to be invited. You told them that no one would be poor in your realm. So you boarded up the walls of your castle and set it on fire with them inside. I hope you like the irony of this.” The line on the other end went dead.

  “Michael, check the doors!” Vlad screamed.

  Michael bolted from his chair to the doors and tried to open them. He pushed against the metal bar twice using his vampire strength. They wouldn’t budge. “Their jammed shut from the other side,” he said.
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br />   “Fuck,” Vlad said more to himself than to the rest of the group.

  Fire started to appear outside the windows of the hall. The walls started to burn, as if the place had been dipped in a gas tank.

  “We got to get the fuck out of here,” Jericho said.

  “What are we going to do?” Michael asked walking away from the doors and toward Vlad.

  The fire was growing and so was the panic. Vampires are very flammable. If fire touched so much as a vampire’s hand, it would quickly make its way to their heart, killing them. They had to get out of there soon.

  The flaming roof started to crumble in on them. One piece landed on Rex up on the balcony. He burned and dissolved quickly. Vlad looked up and saw holes starting to appear in the roof.

  “Do what I do,” Vlad said.

  Vlad flew up toward the ceiling. A piece of roof broke off and descended toward him. He swerved to his right and dodged it. He flew through a hole in the roof into the black night air. He hung up there for a little while waiting for the rest of his men. Jericho and Michael met up with him a few seconds later. The rest of his men tried to make it up. Overall the the path did not seem too tough, but then wired explosive on the walls started to explode, fire and debris smashing in from all sides, taking more of Vlad’s men who were mid-air. A falling piece hit the vampire Francis as he flew up and he died. Others gave up on the roof and tried to fly through the windows, but got burned by the flames from the walls and died in their attempt.

  Thirty-three of Vlad’s men had gone inside the hall for this meeting, only five including Vlad hung in the air above the hall now. All the men—except for Jericho and Michael—that came with him from Los Angeles had died in the fire below. Jericho looked down and watched the hall implode, burning from the outside in; a symbol of how all hope of a possible peace had been destroyed.