by Megan Hawke
Backhanding Javier, I pulled Ryder's pistol from his hand and started pistol whipping him. I only hit him three times before he hit the ground. Dead. I think I forgot my own strength in my rage. His head was a bloody, mushy mess, so bad that the remaining men paused to stare in horror a long second.
There was no magazine in the pistol. Ryder still clutched the full magazine in his left hand. I pried it loose and slammed it home. The last three men came to their senses and started reloading too. It was a horse race to see who shot who.
I nailed Norris right between the eyes as he was raising his gun and eyes toward me. One shot. Dead. Good riddance.
My whole left side lit up with fire. Everything Zach was firing was blessed silver. I cried out and crumbled to the floor. I didn't have the strength to withstand that kind of onslaught of blessed silver. All I could do was point my gun in his direction and start pulling the trigger. No aiming involved. I was half delirious with pain, my eyes burning with tears. I was lucky to have the mental wherewithal to point and shoot at all.
It was enough. Zach saved himself by ducking and dodging to the side. My pistol's slider locked back; it was empty. Cursing, I threw it at Javier while he was reloading his damned Uzi. How many magazines had he brought?
I was lying next to Jake. His holster was empty, but he had a wicked looking bowie knife. I pulled it and rolled to my left, a second before Javier and Zach started shooting again. My supernatural speed alone saved me.
I tried to change into a bat, but nothing happened. The blessed silver in my body was suppressing my vampiric powers.
I threw the bowie knife at Javier with all my strength. Knife throwing was a talent I’d never mastered. I was almost as accurate as Dane, but I had other problems. The knife hit Javier in the forehead, hilt first. Need I say more? How did Dane and the others always get their blades to strike point first? That ability escaped me.
Javier grunted and fell back. He wasn't dead, not even unconscious. At best I stunned him, but it gave me a moment, especially when Zach paused to look.
I picked up a steamer trunk and hurled it at Zach. I threw every trunk and suitcase I could lay hands on at him. He was hard pressed to avoid them, but all I was doing was buying a little time. Really, I wanted him to become overwhelmed with fear and run away.
Wasn't happening.
"I'm going to rip off your head and shit down your throat!" That made him pause. I smiled cruelly at him. I heard that line in a movie once. Never imagined I would get to use it one day. "Time to die."
"Not today, babe," Zach said, tossing his gun aside and picking up a javelin. He twirled the javelin around and snapped into an elaborate martial arts fighting stance. I frowned at his smug face. "Come to Daddy, baby."
I frowned. "Kung Fu?"
"I'm a black belt."
"You'll be black and blue when I finish with you." I stalked toward him. He didn't move, but I saw his body still and prepare itself for the coming battle. Krav Maga didn’t give belts. Dane said status was not the purpose – winning the fight was. "Ready to die?"
He flowed into another stance. Very graceful. Very sinuous. Like a cat. Bet he was good.
Despite Zach’s little show, my senses locked on Javier. The Mexican-American thug stealthily maneuvered into a position where he could explode off the floor. I felt his sense of satisfaction, anticipation. To get to Zach I'd have to walk within two strides of Javier, and he was preparing to pounce. Again, like a cat.
I lunged at Javier.
"Ha!" I cried, startling them both.
Javier froze, eyes wide and staring behind his reflective glasses. I felt as much as saw Zach move. Still with the elaborate Kung Fu. A split second later my hands seized Javier's shoulders. I felt my fingertips penetrate his skin – felt bones snap beneath my grip. He gasped at the pain as I planted my feet, turned, and hurled him at Zach.
The other enforcer was too intent on impaling me with that nasty javelin. He was not prepared for my move. I watched in slow motion as the javelin thrust forward, aimed at my heart. Then Javier flew between us, and a fraction of a second later I saw the head of the javelin erupt out of Javier's body.
I grabbed the javelin just behind the silver head and yanked it the rest of the way through him and out. Javier's body jerked and he screamed.
Javier's body slammed into Zach. And I was right behind him, blood smeared javelin in both hands. Zach parried my first thrust with a roundhouse. I pulled it back and thrust again before his foot completed its circuit. He never saw it coming. The spearhead struck him at the base of the neck, penetrating his windpipe and slicing his spinal column in two.
Zach dropped bonelessly at my feet. He stared at me incredulously for a long moment, his mouth guppy-lipping furiously but nothing coming out. I watched him until the life bled out of his eyes and his aura faded away.
"Holy shit," I whispered, overcome with the shakes.
I looked around, hugging myself as I did so. There was blood everywhere. I was covered in blood, most of it my own. My cotton t-shirt was in tatters.
My vampire senses confirmed there were no others in the house. So I was safe for the moment. No telling how many people knew where I lived though. I'm sure Clive and Yuri knew, so I had to move, no matter what.
First things first. I was carrying around a ton of blessed silver and lead. Boney said my body would move the lead bullets into my bowels and I'd poop them out eventually. The blessed silver would burn itself though my body and out.
I fetched one of the bowie knives my late, unlamented assailants brought to butcher me with. Kneeling in the middle of the basement, I cut into my gullet and began removing bullets. When I found a lead or steel bullet, I removed it as well. I found sifting through my bowels wasn't as painful or difficult as getting the silver bullets embedded in muscle. It took a while, but I eventually dug out all the blessed silver and then some.
All sticky with blood, I morphed into a bat for half a second. That left me pristine. Now I had time to consider my options. The best option would be to call Dane, Gabe, and the other vampire slayers and have them go over and stake the Euro vamps before sundown. But the slayers were scattered across the Metroplex. I doubted they could assemble and attack en force before the vampires woke up.
I doubted they'd want to conduct a night raid. I could. Still dangerous, but daylight raids weren't an option for me. Tried that once. Got caught. Bad things happened.
I called Boney's house. A cell phone ringing in a coffin wouldn't wake a sleeping vampire. I needed a mortal to wake him up. Vicki answered.
"This is Sable. Let me speak with Boney."
"No. He's sleeping. It's the middle of the day."
"I'm well aware of what time it is." I resisted the urge to add, "Dork." Instead I took a steadying breath and continued on more calmly. "Let him know I'm on the phone. I'm sure he'll want to speak with me."
"No. You need to stay away from him. You're going to get him killed. If Clive learns Boney helped you, he will kill him. Stay away, damn you. Leave him alone. Oh… wait. No!"
I was stunned. What could I say to that? It was all true. I knew it. Boney knew it. Then I realized there was an argument – a struggle on the other end. Finally, another voice spoke on the phone.
"Sable?" Desiree said. "Are you there?"
"Yes."
"What happened? Why are you calling at this time of day?"
"Yuri knows where I live." My voice was flat. Lifeless. I was cut off, and knew it. Even if Boney agreed, I couldn't go running to him anymore. Vicki was right. I'm the one that chose to jump out of the pan and into the fire, so I had no right to expect him to burn with me. "He sent over six thugs to stake me. I barely escaped."
"Are you all right? You sound bad."
"I'm fine. They’re all dead. Blood everywhere." I was looking around at all the blood and gore. "Smells good though." I laughed nervously.
"We've got to move you out before sunset. Where are you? I'm coming over."
I gav
e her my address and directions from her house. As I spoke I was trying to determine how long it would take her to rent a truck and get over here, then how long it would take to load it up with all my precious possessions.
"Don't tell Boney. I don't want to endanger him. Vicki's right."
"Fuck Vicki. I'll kick that bitch’s ass if I see her again."
"What? No."
"She's gone. Ran away to cry to Boney, no doubt," she said, sounding surly. "He moved, you know."
"No. Why? Because of me?"
He wasn't even there? Why didn't Vicki just say that? Why that crap about him being asleep?
"He never stays in one house more than six months," she said. "He buys one of his girls a house, lives there about six months, then buys another girl a house and lives there. He bought Vicki a house about a mile from here."
"Why did she answer the phone?"
"Habit. I don't know. She came over to get the rest of her stuff."
There was silence a long moment.
"If you rent a moving truck I'll pay you back," I said. "I'll get everything I want to keep ready to go. Once the sun goes down I can put it in the truck real fast."
"You get your stuff ready. Let me worry about getting it out of there. I'm on my way. Don't go anywhere."
"Ha! Funny girl."
Well if Desiree could still make jokes I guessed it wasn't too bad. Have to admit though, I had a cold lump in my stomach when I thought about how close they came to staking me. During the day I was all alone – helpless. Easy pickings for vampire slayers.
"Be there shortly; bye."
I hung up and looked around. What should I take? I didn't need any of the clothes that didn't fit, which made up the bulk of the trunks and suitcases. I'd take the money, but I needed to get that deposited first opportunity. First though, I picked out what I would wear that night.
I chose a black catsuit. It was sleeveless, with a high collar and a zipper down the front. The blood red stripe down both sides was between two lines of racing checkers. It looked very sporty – like I should be racing a motorcycle or something. I put on a pair of cheap running shoes. I would need every advantage possible that night.
Picking up a necklace with a black heart pendant, I considered it a moment. Then grinning, I put the necklace around my neck. It lay on my chest, above my boobs. I doubt anyone would see it since it was black on top of black, but I kinda liked it.
That done, I made up my face and pulled my hair back in a ponytail. Then I finished packing and carried everything up to the living room. The drapes were thick and very little light shone around the edges.
I had everything I wanted to keep piled in the living room and ready a lot faster than I thought possible. That meant I had to make a decision. It was dangerous. Both to me and to those I cared the most about, but Yuri and Clive had to be stopped at all costs.
I dialed. Dane answered on the second ring.
"I can't believe you called me. It's the middle of the afternoon."
"Yuri's thugs tried to stake me. My basement is full of blood."
My stomach rumbled at the mention of blood. I was half-starved. Heading to the basement fridge, I told him what happened. He listened in silence. I got a couple bags of blood, and sucked them down cold.
"Lord have mercy, Sable; you've killed off half of them." I must admit, it pleased me to no end to hear the admiration in his voice. "All by yourself."
"Well, I had a little help," I said. "But the thing is – they know where I live. I'm sure they'll be heading over here as soon as the sun goes down."
"Are you planning on ambushing them there?"
"Actually, I thought I'd take the fight to them. I know where they live. I don't think they expected their thugs to fail so miserably, or to give away their secret hideout."
"Where are they?"
"Swiss Avenue. Down the street from St. Clair's house – the big yellow house on the corner at Fitzhugh."
"Address?"
"The big yellow house on the corner. I don't have the actual address."
We were silent a long moment before he spoke. "Do you want me to help you?"
A feeling of warmth and well-being washed through me. My heart raced and I smiled as I let his words sink in. He wanted to help me.
"Yes, if you don't mind. It'll be terribly dangerous. There are at least nine vampires. Could be more, and we'll be going in after dark."
"I know. I might be able to get Wendy and Anson to help."
Would they help me? I knew they'd both be eager to kill vampires. Only Gabe seemed more driven, more eager to kill vampires than those two, but would they agree to go in at night and against superior numbers?
"What about Gabe?" I said.
Dane was silent a long moment. "He hasn't answered any of my calls lately. I've only spoken with him once since I moved out of his place after that last big battle, where you bit both of us."
I didn't want to discuss the bite with Dane. Gabe suspected the truth. I think I might've convinced him there wasn't anything to it, but I doubt it. Gabe would agree to anything long enough to get into my pants.
"Without Gabe there's no use even trying. He has all the hardware we need."
"He's not answering my calls."
"I'll call him," I said.
Silence. Then, cautiously, "Have you been working with Gabe? Did he help you when you attacked Clive's house?"
I reached out with my senses and felt him across the city. He felt suspicious, unsure.
"Yes. He armed me, and then charged in to save my butt in the nick of time. Why do you ask?"
"I don't trust him." Was that jealousy I felt though our link? "You shouldn't trust him either."
"I don't," I said, and meant it. "Gabe only cares about himself, but having said that, he kills a lot of vampires. More than anyone else. We need him."
"He might kill you afterwards."
"I’m willing to take that chance."
"I’ll keep an eye on him.”
"Really? You weren't so hot on me a couple days back."
"I’ve had time to think." I felt his tension and pain bleeding away. I could hear the smile in his voice when he continued, "And you have stayed true to your beliefs. My God, I can't even count how many vampires you've killed."
Was he proud of me?
Shrugging, "We all have our talents."
"Ha! Yes, you have a knack for killing vampires. Tell you what, I'll meet you one block over to the west on Fitzhugh right after sunset. I'll try to get Wendy and Anson to join us. We'll see what the situation is, and make our decision then and there."
"I'll see if I can get in touch with Gabe. Maybe he'll help."
"Yes," he said. "We'll see."
I dialed Gabe's number.
"Heh, Sabe!" Gabe sounded way too happy. "Took you long enough to call me. Avoiding me?"
"I should, you old perv." I couldn't help but grin. "But I've been busy killing vampires. Yuri and Clive discovered where I live. Six of their goons tried to stake me about an hour ago."
"Did any of them escape?"
"No."
"Good. So what's up? You wanna crash with me for a couple days?"
"Hmm, crash with the city's most notorious vampire slayer? Sounds kinda dangerous, don't you think?"
"Yep. The danger we both face will spice up our sex life."
"Uh, no. My sex life is spicy enough. Besides, I have a safer place to stay, but thanks for the offer."
"Where?"
"Like I would tell you!"
"You can trust me, Sabe."
He sounded sincere. I'm sure he was, too. He felt sincere through our link, but I was just as sure he'd drive a stake through my heart without hesitation if he felt so inclined.
"Where you living now, Gabe?"
"What?"
"Ha! I knew it. You don't trust me, do you?"
"You're a vampire."
"And you're a vampire slayer. I'll hunt with you. I might have sex with you, but I won't sleep with y
ou." He laughed. "Speaking of hunting … I know where Yuri and Clive live. You want to go in with me tonight?"
"Really? How many vampires will there be?"
"At least nine or ten."
"Just me and you? Are you insane?"
"Off course I'm insane, that’s part of the vampiric curse. But Dane's onboard. And he's calling Wendy and Anson."
"You asked Dane first?"
I rolled my eyes. No one was to blame but me. My mess.
"That a problem?"
Gabe's anger, confusion, and jealously came through our link loud and clear. So I had two jealous men. I was probably responsible for breaking up their friendship as well.
"But … never mind." He sounded annoyed. "When and where?"
I grimaced as I told him when and where to meet up. He promised to bring whatever he could for everyone, but he didn't sound happy anymore. Fortunately, that’s when the truck pulled up in my driveway.
"My ride's here. Gotta go."
"In daylight?"
"I'll take precautions. See you at sundown. Bye-bye."
Someone knocked on the door. I hurried over and tried to use my vampire senses. The daylight was beating on the front door, suppressing me too much. I could feel someone outside the door, but not who.
"Who is it?"
"Desiree."
I recognized her voice. It was the sweetest music.
"I'll unlock the door. Give me a moment to clear out of the room."
"Okay."
I unlocked the door and ran into the guest bathroom. Once I heard Desiree enter and close the front door, I hurried out to her. We embraced. She looked me over with worried eyes to make sure I was okay.
She handed me a key. "Here."
"What's this for?"
"My house. I'm moving you in today. Boney moved out, remember?"
"Yeah, but…"
"No buts. You don't have anywhere else to go. You can live with me until you set up your own house again. Besides, it’s painfully obvious you need daytime protection."
"I don't want to endanger you."
"You let me worry about that," she said, checking out everything that needed to be moved. "We'll put the furniture in storage. I'll take your clothes to the basement. You can have that big fancy coffin now." She grinned at me. I suspected she was already thinking about sharing that coffin with me. "Now go hide in the basement until we're through."