Grave Illusions

by Lina Gardiner

“Who do you think you’re kidding?” Jess shot back. “Do you honestly think you’ve got the upper hand here? James, Britt, and I can take the three of you with no problem.”

  Prometheus hissed out a bored sigh. “Maybe you could if we were the only soldiers you had to fight, but we’re not exactly alone.”

  Jess looked around the room as several other vampires entered via the many doors.

  Britt shrugged. Even with the new additions, there couldn’t be more than a dozen of them.

  “Something’s still not right here, Jess. Is this what they call an army? There’s only a handful of them”

  “Silence!” Veronica sat forward and the baby started screeching. She ignored the child.

  “What kind of mother are you?” Jess said. “Is that any way to care for a baby? Screaming in its ears?”

  “And how would you know about child care? You don’t have a child and you’ll never have one.”

  “Turning a baby into a vampire and never letting it grow into an adult is despicable. Only a monster would do something like that.”

  Veronica’s face twisted with rage. Britt knew that look. And he knew what Jess was doing. She wanted to start a fight between the two of them, thereby distracting Randy and keeping him from torturing Regent and Lucy. Her plan just might work.

  “You think you’re something don’t you!” Veronica pushed herself out of her chair and carelessly tossed the child at Prometheus, who set the baby on the ground with more care than Veronica had showed the child.

  Prometheus watched her with little spark. He looked like some tired, old rock star, with his blond stringy hair billowing over the collar of his leather coat as he sat on his throne. Skin tight jeans showed emaciated legs, emphasizing his deterioration. He certainly didn’t look like a vampire who’d survived for centuries. Maybe he was going mad. The drug had sent other vampires over the edge.

  Veronica stepped forward, her hair perfectly coifed. She was dressed in a flowered sundress and wore white high heels, as if trying to look like a perfect housewife. The image was destroyed by her black eyes that glowed like coals and her still bloody fangs.

  Jess waited to gauge Veronica’s temper. She had the feeling, it would be easy to push her over the edge. “I think you made a mistake when you left John. I think your ex-husband is the most fantastic man I’ve ever met. He’s strong. He’s sexy. He’s got everything a woman could possibly want. Why would you let a man as good as him get away?” If she was right about the way Veronica felt about Britt, that statement should send her over the top. Veronica had tortured Britt for too long after their divorce not to have strong feelings for him. And Jess was sure Veronica was the reason the vampires had been following Britt. Either she still loved him, or she hated him enough to continue to torment him.

  With a hiss, Veronica’s expression grew menacing and she sprang across the room at Jess. There was no doubt from her glowing eyes that the Sunshine had made her strong, but Jess’s strength came from inside. From the abilities Regent had prayed so hard for her to have. Jess knew she was the one in control.

  Grabbing Veronica’s perfect hair, Jess wrenched her sideways, twisting her head as far as it would go. Unexpectedly, the wig came off in her hand, revealing Veronica’s nearly bald head. There were only tufts of hair here and there, as if she’d been exposed to radioactivity. “Lovely hair, you’ve got.”

  Veronica screamed, as if she’d been mortally wounded, and put her hands on her head. “You’ll pay for this!”

  She made another running jump at Jess. She had enough impetus to become airborne and flew across the room to attack.

  Jess jumped to meet her in the air. They both fell to the ground, landing on their feet, arms locked in battle. Whipping one hand free, Veronica pulled a dagger out from the dress’s white belt that matched her shoes.

  In a deft movement, Jess’s fingers wrapped around the pearl handle of her own crucifix shaped knife. Britt, James, Griz and Drake were locked in mortal combat in the center of the room, she could hear them fighting, but she couldn’t afford to take her attention off Veronica to see what was going on.

  Behind Veronica, Prometheus, who had been an impressive opponent in the past, sat on his throne, either too far gone from the drug or too weak to care.

  She and Veronica circled each other. “Where’s your army?” Jess taunted Veronica. “Is this all you have? I’ve got fifty people outside this room alone,” she lied. “And it looks as if they won’t be necessary, because the four of us are going to take all of you down by ourselves.”

  “Shut up!”

  “Does Prometheus know you’re still sleeping with Randy?”

  Veronica leaped toward her again, screaming in anger. She slashed out at Veronica and cut her cheek. The blood bubbled from the wound, stunning her. But not long enough that Jess could kill her.

  “Bitch. You bitch!”

  Jess didn’t expect Veronica to react the way she did. Maybe she really was sleeping with Randy. In the vampire world, it wasn’t wise to sleep around on the Master.

  Jess tapped her heel onto the ground twice, took a running jump and impaled Veronica through the heart. Veronica’s expression was so stunned that Jess realized Prometheus hadn’t warned her about her heel spike. Maybe he’d had enough of Britt’s ex-wife too.

  Veronica’s bloodcurdling scream echoed through the room, and for just a second she held her arms out to Randy before she burst into searing coals and disappeared in a burst of ash.

  Randy let out a roar of anguish and rushed at Jess. At least he’d left Regent alone.

  As she readied herself to battle him, it suddenly occurred to her that Randy and Veronica had been playing Prometheus. They’d thought they could manipulate him.

  Only there was no doubt in Jess’s mind that Prometheus knew what was going on. He’d been around too long not to be aware of their deception. That’s probably why he hadn’t warned Veronica about the heel spike. That’s why he wasn’t helping them now. It had nothing to do with Sunshine.

  “I’m going to make you sorry you ever interfered in our plan,” Randy said as he slowly circled her. He strategically held a balloon container of holy water in his right hand. He had to be desperate because when he threw it, the water could splash back and burn him too.

  “Jess, be careful,” Regent said, distracting her for a moment. A very critical moment. She allowed her attention to shift to her baby brother. He looked so pale. So ill.

  “No!” Britt threw himself on top of her, slamming her to the ground and taking most of the water. A few drops fell on her arms, but only small burning drops. Not enough to disable her.

  “You okay?” He asked, quickly rolling off her and jumping back to his feet just in time to see Randy charging him, teeth hyperextended. He looked like a rattlesnake about to attack.

  Jess sprang up, ready to help with the attack, but then she backed down just as quickly. Britt needed to do this himself. She’d help him if he got into trouble, but not before.

  The two men wrestled, Randy’s fangs hovering too close to Britt’s throat. It took everything in Jess’s power not to intercede. She knew that after all he’d been through, it was important that he gain power over the vampire who had ruined his life.

  Randy’s blade slashed out and caught Britt’s upper arm. Britt looked down at the cut and cursed. It didn’t slow him down. With both hands wrapped around his silver stake, he raised it and, with a powerful thrust, drove it into Randy’s chest.

  Randy’s face registered shock as Britt impaled him with enough force to send him flying backwards before he atomized.

  Meanwhile, James had taken out two vampires, and Drake was still scuffling with one and losing the fight. Jess flew to his aid and arrived just as the vampire’s elongated canines were about to sink in Drake’s neck.

  She drove her knife into the vampire. He exploded into a cloud of dust.

  “Thanks,” Drake said, then sped to Lucy’s side.

  Jess wasn’t far behind. Regent s
till knelt on the floor, his head sagging. Was he okay?

  “Regent, honey.” She gently twisted his head from side to side, checking his neck for telltale holes. To her relief, there were none. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now.” His voice was hoarse and weak. “I thought I was a goner once. Felt something sharp poking into my neck, but it was just this sharp collar. I’m very thirsty. They haven’t given us any water or food for two days.”

  “Let’s get you out of here.”

  “Not just yet,” Prometheus announced, and Jess silently cursed. She’d forgotten about him.

  He stood and injected a bright yellow syringe of serum into his arm, transforming himself almost immediately. Within seconds, he stood straighter, appeared more alert. He surveyed the room before giving Jess a look of disappointment.

  “Now look what you did to the few followers I had left for experimentation. Even Hitler wasn’t brazen enough to try to take away my experiments. How will I do my research now?” In contrast to his words. He looked pleased.

  “You won’t. This is where you die,” she said.

  “You disappoint me, Jess Vandermire. I had very high hopes for you.”

  “You haven’t seen what I can do yet.” She raised her dagger which was shaped like a stake.

  His smile disappeared and his expression darkened. “Be careful. I’ve been patient with you. I even let you stake me twice because I wanted you to see how strong I am. I fed on the roof of the church to show you the benefits of Sunshine. You could do so much more working with me than with those piteous humans. I need a strong vampire at my side, one who can guard my interests, give me time to do my experiments. But don’t mistake caring for lack of good judgment. I will have my way. I always do.”

  Jess eyed him suspiciously. “You kidnapped Lucy and Regent to try to win me over?”

  He pushed one side of his long leather coat back and hooked it back on his belt. A dagger with twin blades hung at his side, alongside three more vials of bright yellow serum situated in leather holders.

  He scanned the room, and when his gaze settled on Regent and Lucy he looked pleased. “This room is sealed. You can’t get out.”

  Jess glanced back to check on Regent. James and Britt had moved Lucy and her brother next to the hallway door leading to the elevator.

  “Because of your vampire hunting teams, I’ve lost dozens of vampires. Vampires who would have helped us, Jess. You and I.”

  She frowned at him. “You’re crazy too, aren’t you? The serum has driven you mad.”

  “No. But the serum is losing its efficacy. It’s been decades since I created Sunshine, and even though I’ve tried to come up with new variations of it, nothing has worked. Our vampire VNA is winning over. We live forever because our own biochemistry works to keep us the way we are. It took a long time to overcome Sunshine’s effects, but our VNA is nearly back to its normal state.”

  “So you won’t have psycho vampires on your hands anymore. Besides not being able to go out in the daytime, what have you lost?”

  He moved toward the edge of his pedestal and loomed over her. His expression one of admiration. Jess nearly puked.

  “You have what I desire. You may walk freely in the daytime.”

  “It’s not that simple,” she said, preparing to battle him. She wrapped her fingers around her blade and readied her stance. Her shortcomings had been made even clearer to her when Regent had been taken and she hadn’t been able to go after him. Even she, with the power of prayer, could only go outside in the daytime after hours of preparation.

  “I wanted you alive. I wanted you to share your blood with me. Don’t you see? You have what I need to create the most powerful drug. Your blood would overcome VNA’s battle to return to its original state. Join me and we can be the most powerful vampires on the planet.”

  “Not going to happen,” she stated flatly.

  His expression turned black again. His teeth grew, but he didn’t move against her yet.

  “With your blood I can create a serum beyond all serums. I could have killed you and taken your blood, but I want you to give it to me freely. That way we can work together until we create the perfect drug.” He glowered. “I have to get back to the lab and test your blood.”

  “You won’t be going back to any lab. And you won’t be taking any of my blood with you. You’re going straight to hell,” she said, feeling her strength building with a force she’d never experienced before.

  She had to kill him if it was the last thing she ever did.

  He smiled again, but his eyes sparkled dangerously as he watched her. “I am one of the old ones. Do you think you’re really stronger than me?”

  Suddenly, he began speaking in the old language. Words she’d never heard before and didn’t understand. She felt funny, woozy. Her heart rate picked up and she could actually feel it beating. The feeling was euphoric, and she knew that was dangerous. The text wasn’t supposed to work on her because of Regent’s intervention in the completion of her vampirism. Or so they’d thought. Obviously, they’d been wrong.

  Prometheus flew from the pedestal and loomed over her now. She didn’t even try to fight him. He reached out one gnarled hand and let his fingernail gently slice along the edge of Jess’s lip. It started to bleed.

  “Jess! Fight him. Don’t forget your promise to me when this is over! I expect to collect.”

  She heard Britt from far away, but she was on a saccharine cloud, in a haze of happiness she hadn’t felt in fifty years. It was luscious. It was…

  Going to take her away from Britt!

  “No!” She physically recoiled from the mind-bending hold Prometheus had on her. When she regained her lucidity, she realized she wasn’t alone. Had never been alone. Britt stood on one side of her and James on the other.

  “Three against one, Prometheus. You’re not up to it,” Britt said.

  “You, Mr. Brittain—” He pointed his black fingernail with hatred glowing on his face. “—are a pain in the ass. I’m afraid you’re going to have to die a most painful death. Nothing will come between me and my desires.”

  “I won’t let you have her.” Conviction filled Britt’s voice and Jess’s heart at the same time.

  “Nor will I let you have her,” said James.

  Britt and James looked at each other, as if making a silent pact, and moved into position. Jess crossed her arms and tapped her heel on the floor two times.

  Prometheus laughed. “You don’t really think you’re going to get me with that heel stake again. You only got me before because I let you.”

  “Ever hear the expression, three times lucky.”

  The three of them circled around Prometheus. For a nanosecond he looked worried, Jess noted with pleasure.

  “I’m disappointed in you, Jess,” he said. “You and I could have ruled the world.”

  “Guess you didn’t learn that much from Hitler.” She dove at him.

  He slashed an arm at her. James flew at him to avert his aim. In the process, James took a deep cut across his chest.

  Jess wanted to glance at James and verify he’d make it, but she realized his action had distracted Prometheus, giving her the time she needed to kill him. She wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

  Springing into the air, she kicked out her leg with every ounce of strength inside her and rammed her heel deep into Prometheus’s chest, impaling him.

  His scream pierced her soul, making her realize how deep the connection was between her and this vile creature. He fell backward, slamming into the side of one of the burning vats. It tipped over and burning oil spilled across the floor in a fiery wave. The curtains around the shrine quickly caught fire and began burning.

  She ran for the baby and whisked her up. Sephina’s coal black eyes focused on her and she snuggled in and began to suck her thumb.

  “Hang, on baby,” Jess murmured soothingly. “There’s a nice Forensic Vampirologist I want you to meet. He just might be able to help you.”

 
; “We have to get out of here,” Britt shouted, pulling Jess away from the inferno and dragging her toward the hallway to the elevator. James had already run down the hallway, and he pounded his hand on the elevator door, Terry opened it immediately.

  “No, wait, I have to see him die first. Make sure he dies.” Jess said.

  “Vampires are susceptible to fire. He’ll die. He’s surrounded by flames. He can’t get out, and he may already be dead. You impaled his heart this time.”

  “What if we’re wrong? What if Sunshine gives him more abilities than we realize?

  Britt’s deep blue eyes looked into hers, pleading. “Please, Jess, we don’t have much time. This place is going up like a wick.”

  James waited at the elevator, holding the door for them.

  They got in just before the ceiling collapsed near the statue. Prometheus had to be buried under the burning material.

  When they reached the main floor, it was already burning. Old leather was like dry tinder. They rushed outside and met the team just arriving. The building was engulfed in flames and had become a three alarm fire within minutes.

  Lucy and Drake were taken to the hospital in the first ambulance and Regent in the second.

  Jess and Britt followed in the departmental vehicle. James and the rest of the team stayed behind for mop up.

  When they arrived at the hospital the doctor did tests on Regent. He’d had a heart attack earlier in the day and was put in the heart unit. Jess stayed with him until nearly sunup.

  “Jess, you’ve got to go. I’ll stay with Regent,” Britt said.

  “No. I can stay. I’ve been doing my preparations that allow me to stay awake.”

  “Really. How’d you do that?” Britt got out of his chair and stood behind her, both hands resting on her shoulders.

  “I wasn’t asleep. I was meditating and praying,” she said.

  “I wonder how that works,” Britt said.

  Jess looked at her beloved brother’s ashen face. “It’s the power of prayer, Britt. And the power of love that gives me this ability. There’s nothing special in my blood. Nothing that Prometheus could have used to create a new serum. He just had no understanding of family. She took Regent’s hand and held it to her face. “Hang in there baby brother. You’re going to make it.”