Drake had gone sickly white when they got close to the factory. He bent over, placed his hands on his knees, and puked right on his own shoes. A sign of guilt?
“Care to share what’s bothering you?” Jess said, moving next to him. It was difficult to keep the rancor out of her voice. It was harder to get past the fact that her beloved brother was nearby. Only rotting brick and wood stood between them. If he was dead, Drake would be too.
“Nothing. Something I ate for breakfast, I think.” He moved away from her without looking back.
She angled herself next to Britt. “It’s him. It’s really him. Somehow I still thought—hoped—we might be wrong.”
“Then it’s time to get the truth out in the open.” Britt charged toward Drake and cut him off mid-stride. “Before you take another step, you’re going to tell me why you’re working for the vampires.”
Drake slumped and tears formed in his eyes. He didn’t even try to deny the charge before he crumbled to the ground, as if his legs had given out.
Britt must have sensed her behind him, because he reached to stop her before she could get to Drake. He barely touched her elbow, but that touch was enough to calm her. She knew if she attacked Drake they might never find out the truth. Her teeth were elongated, and she could feel evil roiling in the pit of her stomach. It was always there, always waiting for her to drop her guard so it could burst forward.
“How’d you know?” Drake didn’t wait for a response. “This is the worst moment of my life. Britt, you, of all people, know being a cop is the most important thing in the world to me. There’s only one thing more important. My wife.”
“Lucy?”
Drake slowly nodded, tears slipping unashamed down his face. “They’ve got her, Britt. They took her two weeks ago. I’ve been their puppet ever since.” He ran the back of his hand across his eyes. “They said if I breathed a word of it, they’d kill her. Hell, it’s probably already too late. She’s probably a vampire or worse now. I was supposed to retire next year. Lucy and I, we had lots of plans.” He tried to choke back a sob, and his shoulders heaved for a minute before he finally pulled himself together enough to speak. “It’s all over for me. My career’s gone and I don’t care. I just want Lucy.”
They hadn’t thought of this. Britt didn’t look any more hopeful than she guessed she did. With a solid hand on Drake’s shoulder, Britt squeezed and then reached out a hand and helped the man up.
“Given your situation, I would have done the same thing. Lucy is your life. We’ll do what we can to save her.”
“But they know you’re coming. I had to tell them. It was so stupid. I know better. I know the odds against kidnappers releasing their victims. I just couldn’t chance it with my Lucy.”
“No. You did the only thing you could.” Britt stepped back to give Drake room. “You can turn the tables on them, though. You can help Lucy now. You’re here. You can fight with us. You can save her.”
Drake looked weary and cynical, but he forced a slight smile. “Thanks for being the great guy you’ve always been, Britt. I’ll do whatever I can, but I’m not sure I’ll be much help to you if I find out she’s … dead. I just pray she’s still alive.”
“Me too, Drake. Me too.”
Outside the door to the building, Jess set her shoulders. The time had come to rescue her brother. She took a breath. He had to be all right. He just had to.
“You be careful inside,” she whispered to Terry, Griz, and Britt. “I don’t want any casualties today, do you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.
She gave the signal and watched Britt move forward. A foreign feeling of fear clutched at her heart. She wanted to tell him to stay outside where he was safe, but he’d never agree to that. Probably wouldn’t even understand why she’d asked him to do it. His whole life had been about saving people. Being a cop was a part of him. The part that made him whole.
He suddenly returned to her. “Before we go in…”
He leaned in as if to whisper in her ear, then encircled her face with his hands and lifted her mouth to his. His kiss was hard and merciless. A desperate last kiss for all eternity.
“Be safe in there, love,” he said, turning from her.
His fading smile sent shivers up her spine. She followed, aware that she probably wouldn’t be able to help any of her teammates from here on out, because she’d be the vampire the enemy would try to take out first. Her reputation would make her a target in this war. But she still worried about Britt. They’d been watching him for a while. She had to hope he and the team would hold their own.
It was cool and dark inside. The shoe company had apparently left its stock behind when it went out of business years ago. Debris littered the place from ceiling to floor. Shelves of rotted shoe leather filled her nostrils, making it difficult to sort out other odors lurking in the depths of the building. Now she knew why they used this place. She could smell the vampires along with all the rotting leather which wasn’t much different than dried rotting flesh. A great way to mask their exact location.
The vampires didn’t attack right away, which was unusual. She thought they’d be surrounded the minute they got inside, but there wasn’t a single vampire to be seen.
Drake had already admitted the vampires knew they were coming. So what was their battle tactic? She gave the silent hand signal for everyone to spread out. She and James would search the first level. The others would work their way up to the other three floors from the side entrances.
Except for the team moving around upstairs, she still didn’t hear any activity. The reason came to her in a sudden flash.
It was because they were below.
This place must have a basement.
Circling back to the point of entry, she waited for the others to return as designated.
James was the first to show up. “There’s nothing down that way,” he said. “I couldn’t smell anything but rotted leather.”
Terry and Griz weren’t far behind him. Then Britt and Drake returned.
“Nothing,” Britt said, looking as strained as she felt.
Suddenly, she recalled him kissing her outside. She gave a disgusted shake of her head. This was the worst possible time for her to think about his kiss. What the devil was wrong with her? Her brother’s life was at stake!
“I know where they are,” Jess said.
“Where?” James asked.
“There’s got to be a basement in this place.”
Drake looked so stressed that she feared he might faint at any moment. For such a meritorious policeman, he’d fallen apart over his wife’s kidnapping. But then they’d been married for nearly forty years.
She let her gaze stray back to Britt. If she was alive instead of a member of the undead, she would have loved building a life with him. They’d probably argue because they were both strong willed, but she knew in her heart it would have been a glorious life.
“What are we waiting for?” Britt pulled out his silver stake. She noticed he also had a couple bottles of holy water hanging on his waist like grenades. A shiver rocketed up her spine at the thought of being splashed with holy water again.
They hadn’t searched long before they found an elevator shaft, sans elevator.
Terry leaned forward and tried to see into the dark pit at the bottom of the shaft. “What’s down there? It smells even fouler than the rest of this place.”
James grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Careful, or you’ll be down there with the rest of those percolating bodies.”
“Bodies!” Terry jerked back with a horrified expression. “Poor bastards.”
Britt had his flashlight, but Jess didn’t need it to see what was down there. The vampires had discarded their refuse in this hole. Apparently, they’d been using this place for quite a while.
“This is stupid. They know we’re coming and they’re just going to let us march right in?” Griz shoved his hands into his pockets.
“That�
��s exactly what we’re going to do,” Jess began searching for an entrance again. There had to be a way to get down there. Finally, she found a door hidden behind a rack of shoes. She shoved the rack aside.
At the bottom of the stairwell they found a dead end. The only thing in the large, open room was another elevator door with no button and no other obvious way to get into it.
“I don’t like the thought of walking into a place without knowing where the exits are. This elevator is operated from the inside. There’s no telling if we can get back out, once we get in.” Britt carefully scanned the room for any type of door. The walls were perfectly smooth.
“That’s the least of our worries,” Jess said. “This whole thing is too risky. The rest of you don’t have to go in there. I do. They have my brother.”
“I’m going too,” Drake said. “They have Lucy.”
“We’re on camera, folks.” Britt leaned against the door and waved at the small instrument in the far corner of the ceiling. “Not only do they know we’re coming, they just heard everything we said.”
As if to confirm Brit’s theory, the elevator door opened.
“Jess stepped in without a moment’s thought. She’d give up her life for Regent in a second.
“Why don’t we wait for the rest of the teams to arrive? There’re only five of us here. We can’t put up much of a fight alone,” Griz said.
Jess clenched her hands. “And if the elevator door doesn’t open for us the next time, I’ve lost my window of opportunity. No, I can’t risk it. I don’t expect you to do this, Britt. Or any of the rest of you. I’m a damned good fighter. I can handle myself.”
Britt gave her a bleak look. “Honey, not even you can fight off a gang of vampires, especially if Prometheus is one of them. Hold that door, I’m coming with you.”
“Me too,” James leaned over and, to everyone’s surprise, kissed Terry on the mouth. She clung to him for a moment. “You stay here and be safe,” he said. “Promise me.”
“I want to come too.” She tried to push her way onto the elevator.
James remained firm. “No. Griz, you stay here with her. Please.”
“Hell no, man, I want to come too,” Griz said, his face set in determination.
Terry stepped forward. “You go ahead. Maybe I should wait in the elevator so I can open the door for everyone. Being stuck inside isn’t an option I want to consider for any of you. And as much as I want to be in there, I think somebody’s got to hang back.”
James looked concerned, but agreed.
“Terry, when the others arrive, tell them to try to find an alternate way in,” Britt said. “Just in case the elevator doesn’t pan out. I don’t plan on this being a death mission. I plan to make it back out again with everybody in good health.”
“Will do.” Terry took a deep breath, and positioned herself next to the elevator button.
Jess raised her eyebrows and leaned against the elevator’s back wall. She didn’t think Britt had reason for so much optimism but hoped he was right. “Let’s go.”
Britt pushed the sole button on the inside of the elevator and the door shut. The elevator moved downward. At least with a button on the inside, they’d be able to operate the elevator to get back up.
“You two shouldn’t have come,” Jess said to Britt and Drake. “James and I are better equipped to fight the vampires down here.”
“I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeve,” Britt said as the door opened onto a narrow hallway thirty feet long. “Feels like we’re rats in a maze doesn’t it?”
“We might be rats, but at least we can fight back,” Griz said. He adjusted his belt and felt for his weapons, apparently making sure they were still within easy reach.
“Here’s hoping,” James said.
Jess walked alongside James. “How long have you and Terry been a couple?”
He gave her a guilty look. “I’m sorry. I know we shouldn’t have. It just happened.”
“I’m glad for you, James. Really.”
They reached the end of the corridor. Jess looked up at the camera and said, “Let us in.”
The door opened. They stepped inside a chamber the size of an aircraft bay. Huge columns supported the ceiling. As far as they could see, the room was empty except for a twenty foot statue against the far wall that somewhat resembling an Ancient Egyptian creation. There were two thrones at the base of the statue. In keeping with the theme, fires burned on each side in black vats.
“Is this a shrine?” Drake whispered. “And where is everybody?”
“Good question.” Britt moved lithely around the room. There were four closed doors next to each of the corners. There were no doorknobs.
Since they were now trapped, the team gathered in the center of the room with their backs together and their weapons at the ready.
Where were the vampires?
A clicking sound echoed through the chamber as an unseen door creaked open behind the statue. They hadn’t even noticed it when they searched the room.
Prometheus came around the side of the statue and limped to one of the thrones. He didn’t look as animated as he had that night at the graveyard. He looked older.
“The Sunshine must be not be working on him any more,” Jess said.
“Very astute.” Prometheus adjusted his position on his golden throne. “Veronica, where are you?”
“Veronica?” Britt tensed. “That’s my ex-wife’s name.”
He felt the blood drain from his face when his ex-wife stepped into the room. He knew instantly she was a vampire; her eyes were glowing just like Prometheus’s. Apparently, she was under the influence of Sunshine as well. And, dear God, a baby suckled at her breast!
A baby that had been turned into a vampire. Would it always be a baby or would it grow to adulthood? The thought of the tiny thing living as a creature of the night sickened him. He’d bet this was Randy’s missing baby.
Blood trickled down Veronica’s bared breast and the baby lapped at it like a kitten. For a moment Britt thought he might be sick.
Jess put her hand on Britt’s arm in a gesture of support. “Keep your wits about you, Britt. They’re trying to throw you off-center.”
“Well, it’s working.” He sucked some much needed air in through his nostrils.
Veronica took a seat on her throne beside Prometheus. He leaned over and partook of the blood leaking out of her breast, then kissed her. They broke away with blood on their faces.
“Where’s your army?” Jess stepped forward, unaffected by their show of solidarity.
“Oh, they’re around here somewhere,” Veronica said, glaring at Jess. “I hear you’ve got my ex-husband panting after you.”
“Veronica!” Britt stepped forward. “How the hell did this happen to you?”
“Tsk, tsk, Britt. Don’t even try to pretend you’re concerned. This isn’t exactly news. Why do you think I couldn’t conceive?”
He stared at her, his expression stunned. “You were a vampire when we were married?”
“I wasn’t at first. But then Randy and I had an affair. How was I supposed to know Randy was a vampire? One night, he got a little carried away, and, well—” She raised one hand and smiled wickedly. “Here I am.”
“How’d Randy’s wife get pregnant if he was a vampire?”
Veronica looked at the tiny baby whose face was covered in blood and cooed. “My little darling, Sephina, was artificially inseminated. Randy’s wife thought he had a low sperm count. But Randy had found an unethical doctor who would inseminate her without testing him.” She laughed, and her voice echoed around the room. “She just had no idea exactly how low it was.”
Britt swallowed. What kind of a monster would turn a baby into a vampire? He’d always known Veronica was nasty, but this was downright evil. “Where is Randy?”
“Preparing a special surprise for you.”
“Where’s my brother,” Jess spat out.
“Funny you should ask.” She leaned forward and kissed
the baby’s curly brown hair. The child turned its head in their direction. Its eyes were terrifying black coals. Then it started to cry.
Putting the baby back to her breast, Veronica pressed a button and settled back in her chair.
Randy entered through one of the side doors. He pushed Regent and Lucy into the room in front of him. Britt noted that Regent’s face was deathly white. Had he been vamped? Lucy was dirty and disheveled and terrified, but she still looked human.
Lucy tried to run to Drake, but Randy had dog collars on them with the spikes on the inside, and he jerked her back.
“Jesus! What do you want?” Drake cried out, trying to get to his wife.
Britt held him back. “Stay with the group for now, Drake. Keep your wits about you and we might get out of her alive.”
Prometheus grunted as though tired. “Enough, Veronica. I’m tired of your vindictive games that serve no purpose but to please you. Let’s get on with this.”
Veronica cast a vicious glare at Prometheus. “We’ll get on with it when I say so and not before.”
He leaned back in the throne, looking old and tired. “Just get me some serum that works, my love. And hurry.”
She smiled and touched his arm. “Soon.”
Regent had slumped to the ground almost the minute they entered the room, his head hung forward limply.
“Don’t, Jess. Not yet!” Britt said when she started toward her brother. Britt had the feeling this was what they wanted. There was something strange going on here. Where were all the other vampires? This place should be full of them.
“But, Regent…”
“I’m okay, Jess. I’m just tired and hungry,” Regent said, his voice so weak that for the first time he actually sounded like a senior citizen.
Randy exposed his fangs. “The four of you will do as you’re told or Regent and Lucy will be bled dry before your eyes.”
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