“Not necessarily. I guess it would depend on how that serum Sampson discovered works. I assume other members of Randy’s family are buried here?”
“Yeah, I guess. The crypt doesn’t look new. Maybe, Randy isn’t even the first in line to be a vampire.”
“He might have another relative who was turned ahead of him,” she said, but didn’t sound convinced.
“Do we still need to look inside?”
“We do.” She tipped her head and gave him a grim look. “Sorry, but just having these carvings on the building doesn’t mean there are vampires inside. It might mean absolutely nothing except an artist thought it was a good idea to give the angels weapons.”
He heaved a ragged breath. “Let’s get inside. The sun’s about to set behind those trees. I’m not afraid to tell you that I’d rather not be inside this place when the sun goes down. I know it’s stupid, but I have a phobia about skeletons. Being inside with bones and not being able to see them makes it even worse.” Since she’d shared her deep dark secret with him, it was only fair he shared his.
“Whatever gave you that phobia?” she asked.
“Whoever said Halloween was fun for kids?”
“Don’t worry I have a phobia too. It’s called Phengophobia. Fear of sunshine.”
“Yeah, at least your phobia has a basis in rationality. Sunshine isn’t exactly healthy for you.”
“Well, don’t worry. It’ll just take a few minutes to check his coffin. Maybe his remains will still be there and we’ll find out we’re wrong about Randy being a vampire. Then you’ll be so happy you’ll forget we’re looking at bones.”
She took hold of the iron door handle and wrenched the deadbolt right through the solid stone as if it was Styrofoam.
No time to think about her impressive brute strength right now. They still had a coffin to desecrate. He stepped inside, staying close behind her. A faint light shone through the tiny stained glass window in the top corner of the eaves. Dust motes teemed in the thin shaft of light.
To the left and to the right of the door, four coffins sat on shelves two-tiers deep. Another coffin rested on a pedestal in the middle of the room. “Place of honor?” he said.
Moving closer to the casket, Jess blew some of the dust off the brass nameplate. “Barnaby Starr, born 1826 died 1913. Must be Randy’s great-grandfather.
“But where’s Randy?”
She turned and looked at the two coffins behind her. Brushing dirt off the placards with two fingers, she leaned closer to read the names that were faintly inscribed on the plates. “Not here. Must be behind you.”
“Just my luck.” The hair rose on his arms as he stepped toward the two coffins and read their nameplates. “This is it.” Of course, the coffins were hermetically sealed and there was no real smell of death, but somehow Britt smelled it anyway. Only a little fresh air circulated inside, and even with the front door hanging open he found it difficult to breathe.
Gripping and ungripping his hands, he clenched his teeth and reached out to open the coffin. It didn’t budge, so he gave it another wrench. Nothing. He cast a quizzical look at Jess.
She had some sort of brass wrench in her hand. “You have to unlock the ends first with this.”
He saw the keyholes then. Jess unscrewed each end. When he heard the hiss of the hermetic seal breaking, he knew she’d opened the coffin.
“Tell me, is it normal to have something like that lying around inside crypts?” He pointed to the brass wrench.
“No. But it might be if the occupants were vampires and needed to be released after burial.”
The coffin was about to open. To expose a vampire maybe. But more likely to expose a mummified body and not white fleshless bones. Either way, Britt wanted to run out of here as fast as his feet would take him. But then that wouldn’t be very macho. Since Jess was already way stronger than him physically, he at least had to show a mental strong front.
She wrenched on the casket’s lid and it opened. A vile, clogging stench filled the room. Britt grabbed the front of his T-shirt and covered his mouth. It didn’t help.
They looked into the coffin. “He’s here.” Britt said.
“How tall was he?”
“Six feet.”
“It’s not him then,” Jess said.
He didn’t know why her matter-of-fact tone startled him. She had spent the last fifty years hunting her own kind. Probably visited more than one crypt in that time. He was also embarrassed. The reason he hadn’t noticed the size of the body was because he hadn’t really looked.
This time he made himself stare at the skeleton. He’d seen lots of death, and all types of injuries and wounds. They didn’t bother him. But show him a skeleton and he turned to mush. As far as he was concerned, being in a room with a skeleton was worse than an arachnaphobic being covered with tarantulas. He broke out in a cold sweat. “Who was it? Someone from the streets?”
“Hard to say,” Jess said. “Whoever it is is covered with dirt, as if buried in the ground before being put in this coffin. That would probably explain the amount of decay.”
Holding his breath, Britt forced himself to examine what was left of the body. Bony fingers lay across the exposed rib bones. Then he saw the wedding rings. He let the T-shirt drop from his face. “It’s a woman. She’s got wedding rings on.”
“Yeah, still could be anyone though. We needed to know whether Randy was buried here. He isn’t. Let’s go.”
“Wait a minute. She’s got a ring on the other hand, I can see a little bit of it.”
Jess lifted the skeletal hand and the bones dislocated and tumbled into the coffin making noises like dice. Britt’s skin crawled.
“I’ve seen that ring before. Randy had it specially made for his wife. Purple amethyst stones surrounding one perfect diamond. My God, this is Randy’s wife! I’m sure of it. He wouldn’t bury anyone else with that ring. She treasured it. If she’s dead, who the hell have I been supporting?”
Jess reached into the coffin and turned the skull sideways. “Look here. Even though the rest of the flesh is gone, there’s still a small tag of skin with two marks on the neck area. She was vamped and it didn’t work. He probably buried her in the ground to keep her hidden until he could move her into the family crypt without being noticed. By the amount of decay, he must’ve had to wait a while. How long has it been since you last saw her?”
“Two years,” Britt grated his teeth over his lower lip. “I’ve been sending her money for the last two years.”
After taking a big breath, he leaned in. Fears aside, he needed to see this for himself. He saw the piece of skin that looked like a piece of dried up apple with two dark holes in it. “How could there be skin on this one spot when all the rest of it is long gone?”
“It has VNA in it. Since the vampirization attempt didn’t work, the VNA didn’t travel far. VNA has the ability to keep tissue intact for a very long time. That’s why there’s still a bit of tissue left here and nowhere else.”
“That’s it then. Since Randy’s body isn’t here, and she’s been bitten by a vampire, he has to be a vampire, right?” Damn. It wasn’t solid proof. He wanted to know for sure. Wanted validation that he hadn’t killed Randy. But things were looking rosier. If you could call finding out his partner might be a vampire rosy.
“Yes. And whether or not it was Randy, someone tried to turn his wife but didn’t have the skill. Whoever it was probably didn’t know how hard it really is to recreate another vampire.”
Suddenly, as if someone had flipped off a switch, the crypt went dark. “Hell, let’s get out of here.” He hated sounding scared. He’d been one of the toughest cops on the beat. No one had dared cross him then. Good thing they didn’t know about his fear of skeletons.
“Relax, the sun just dropped below the level of the window up there. It’s not dark outside yet. Your eyes will adjust in a couple of seconds.”
Big tough cop! Scared of being in the dark with a skeleton. At the same time, he was
too close to Jess. He dragged his attention away from the horrors around him and focused on her. His thoughts were dangerous at the moment. Dangerous because the temptation to pull her into his arms pervaded his every thought. But if he touched her in that way, he’d be lost. He just knew it. He’d been trying to ignore the fact that she was wearing that leather outfit that drove him over the edge. He might not be able to see her in it right now, but he remembered every nuance of the way it fit her. He wanted to explore her mouth with his. Run his fingers through her thick, silky hair. Let his hands wander over her magnificent body. Damn! He’d certainly gotten over his fear of her.
Suddenly, Jess grabbed his hand and led him outside. “Lift your foot, there’s a bit of a rise at the door,” she said.
When they got outside, Britt took several gulps of fresh air and told himself he was no longer afraid of skeletons. If he kept repeating it over and over, maybe someday it might even be true.
Jess stood still, waiting for Britt to pull himself together. Who’d have ever believed that a big, strong cop could look at a battered body but would be terrified of a skeleton? She found it oddly endearing.
An owl hooted in the distance, and wind whispered through the trees. Other forms of life came out at night. The hunters. The predators. Jess’s blood quickened.
With the strength of the undead, she shoved the crypt’s door closed and tried to hide the damage she’d done to the stone by pressing bits of crushed cement back into the hole. It didn’t completely cover up the fact that there’d been a breakin, but it would be less noticeable from a distance.
“Let’s get back to the city,” Britt said, moving away from the crypt. Several bright stars sparked to life as the sky drained from indigo blue to black.
“Will you come with me to tell Regent what we’ve learned so far?” she asked, knowing Regent would be thrilled to hear they’d been working together. The least she could do was give her brother a little encouragement. And if pretending Britt might be her protector was the only way she’d make Regent happy, she’d do it. She had no illusions though. She didn’t think she could allow Britt to be her protector. Not when she was overpowered by his masculinity. She stared at him. Hard in all the right places. He’d been muscled when she first met him, but he was even more magnificent after the strenuous training he’d gone through. Slight stubble darkened his chin making him look even sexier. Thoughts of his light beard brushing against her body tantalized her. His only salvation was the fact that he was standing ten feet away from her right now. If she could just reach out and touch—no, the temptation would be too much.
She’d never made love to a human. Would the instinct to bite him be uncontrollable? She couldn’t take the chance. And dear God, the way he was looking at her right now, as if he wanted to haul her into his arms and ravish her, could make her break her most heartfelt vow to leave him alone.
She had to leave him alone. She had to!
Instead, she took one step toward him and breathed in his masculine scent.
Chapter Eleven
They came out of nowhere. Three leather clad bad boy vampires with Goth makeup and pins stuck everywhere. Stereotypical. Apparently they watched the movies too. Trying to fit into society wasn’t hard for vampires these days. They could hide their true selves in this accepted attire and no one would be any the wiser.
One vampire grabbed Britt and yanked him away to the left. Far enough that Jess could no longer see him with her night vision. There wasn’t time to go after him.
She’d trained Britt well. Maybe even better than the others. For Regent’s sake, of course. Now, all she could do was hope he’d learned his lessons, because he was going to need them tonight. She couldn’t help him.
Scents of other vampires permeated the air. Sounds of vile things slithering through the rotted soil underneath. She tapped her boot heel twice on the ground to activate the silver rod inside, and crouched to spring at the closest of the three vampires coming at her.
Before she moved on them, all three vampires lowered their heads and backed away. A set of glowing eyes in the distance caught her attention.
Unfortunately, the fourth vampire was familiar. Her stomach wrenched.
Prometheus walked toward her with his long leather coat flapping in the breeze, eyes glowing in the moonlight. Just the sight of him would have formed goose bumps on her skin if it were at all possible.
“Randy must be a special vampire to rate this many watchdogs,” she said, trying to taunt them. If these vamps were into bragging before battle, maybe she’d be able to find out for sure if Randy was alive.
The other vampires weren’t talking though. Not in Prometheus’s presence at least.
“Bend over and kiss your ass good-bye,” Prometheus said with a distinct Romanian accent.
Jess froze. This was the first time she’d heard him speak. That accent scared her more than anything else about him. Yes, he might be genetically altered, but he was of old Romanian blood.
The thrum of the ancients burned in her blood, a code instilled from long ago. It told her the old ones were the leaders. Always. From somewhere deep inside her vampire heart, she wanted to revere him.
As deeply as she wanted to follow the code, she fought her way back and regained her momentum. Nothing could change her from the vampire she’d become, thanks to Regent. She could fight those urges, those ancient drums, the savagery that remained ever present but under control.
“I’m flattered to see you need backup to fight me,” she said, feeling her teeth growing and her strength building. She was ready to fight him. And the others, too, if she had to. Though she was hoping to goad his baser male instinct that said he didn’t need allies to fight a woman.
Even in the vampire world, women weren’t seen as much of a physical threat. But she’d proven herself over and over again. Luckily, none of her previous conquests had survived to talk about her abilities. That gave her an advantage.
Normally she’d be able to spot an old vampire. They looked old; they smelled old. This guy didn’t. Why? Because of the serum Sampson found present in Prometheus’s victims? Maybe that was why his eyes glowed.
She spread her shoulders wide and hissed at him. No need to psyche herself out about his lineage. Besides, it was a Romanian who’d turned her into a vampire in the first place. This was a chance for retribution.
“I’m ready for you.” Unfortunately, he ignored her attempts to make him fight her alone, so she tried again. “Come and try to get me, though a big tough vampire like you shouldn’t need a gang to help him do his dirty work. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of little ole me?”
It worked this time. Prometheus jerked his head at the other vampires. “Get lost,” he said in his deep reverberating accent.
Against their obvious wishes, they backed away, their lascivious expressions turning cold. They wanted to be here for the kill. Had been aroused by the thrill of the fight. Even though they didn’t know how successful she really was in hunting vampires, she still had a reputation in this city. She knew that just supping on her blood after her death would elevate their status in the vampire world. Too bad they wouldn’t get a chance to do that, because she was going to win this battle.
She motioned for Prometheus to come and get her.
He didn’t move.
He had the gall to cross his arms over his chest and bare his teeth at her in a feral grin while he looked her over like she was his sexual conquest. Like he would have her tonight.
“Think you’re something special, don’t you? Well, I’m something special too. This time you’ve met your match,” she said and jumped at him, teeth bared and ready to attack.
With double the speed of the undead, he dove at her. No regular vampire could move that fast. It was futile to get away from him. Even though she jumped to the right, he nearly caught her.
Arm raised, she slashed out with her silver blade and cut his shoulder. She could hear the sizzle of his flesh and blood.
He grabb
ed his upper arm and smiled at her. “Where’d you get that little pig sticker?” His deep accent spilled over her like hot lava, burrowing into her mind. But she fought against him. He was exuding the oldest form of vampire trickery—mind control. She wouldn’t listen. She couldn’t.
With a laugh, he flung both arms wide as if he were a magician, distracting her long enough to allow his black fingernails to slash into her side. She’d already felt the sharp edge of those nails the other night at the church. She hadn’t planned to experience them again.
She looked down and was surprised by the amount of damage he’d done with one quick swipe.
Instead of being the aggressor this time, she flipped backwards, using a headstone as a springboard to put even more distance between them.
It didn’t work for long. He was in her face before she knew it. His huge hand grabbed her arm and spun her around, pulling her against his chest so he could bare her neck from behind. Obviously, he liked to attack his victims from behind since he’d done the same thing to her last time at the church. She’d been counting on that.
With a couple of swift movements, she grabbed his arms and flipped him. The second his back hit the ground, he sprang back up again, but not quick enough to avoid her heel spike. She impaled him in the chest. His eyes grew wide and he roared in anger.
Damn! She’d missed his heart—again.
It wasn’t like her to miss twice. In fact, with his strength and speed it was downright stupid. He had the tactical advantage now.
Suddenly, she remembered something else that might work. She started speaking in the tongue of the old ones. The vampire’s own language was a mix of Romanian and something older than time itself.
She’d studied the Romanian language thirty years ago at the University, and Sampson had taught her the rest. Sampson had found a lost text during his anthropological studies as a young Ph.D. student in Romania. It had changed his focus and alerted him to the reality of vampires. It had also brought him to her.
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