The three people in the police car all gazed at Holland with looks of surprise on their faces. Holland smiled wryly. “The whispers and rumors you’ve been hearing about vampires are all true. Vampires are as real as those walking corpses on Edgemont Avenue.”
A woman with a buzz haircut emerged from the front seat. She took a moment to glance at the cop who was struggling to stand upright before turning her attention to Holland. “Okay, I get that there are walking corpses in Frombleton. I barely escaped their attack on Edgemont Avenue. I’ve been hearing talk about vampires and I’m open-minded enough to accept that they exist.” She pointed to the cop. “But this thing you’re doing to him—is it mind control—hypnosis? I mean, wow! Look at him—he really believes he’s teetering high above ground. What did you to him and what are you?” She stared at Holland, probing her with her piercing, brown eyes.
“I’m a witch. A good witch—most of the time.”
Two young men in the back seat got out. They were college age, and one seemed like the studious type with glasses and inquisitive eyes, while the other was basketball-height tall, and gave off the air that most jocks emanated.
“So much has happened, and we don’t know what to believe any longer,” the guy with glasses said. “We don’t know what to do or where to go. We woke up to dudes in the dorm going on biting rampages, and we were lucky to escape. We were trying to get out of Frombleton when we got caught up on Edgemont Avenue.” He shook his head at the gruesome memory. “Those people . . . those monsters, or whatever they are, were ripping into motorists with their teeth. We had to ditch our car and run, and the police officer was our only hope of getting to a safe place.
“But now, he can’t help us because you’ve got him out of his mind, believing he’s doing some sort of high-wire act.” All three squad car passengers cut an eye at the cop, who now was crouching with one foot kicked out in front of him, his arms unevenly outstretched as he fought to keep his balance.
“As if those zombie creatures weren’t bad enough, we have to be worried about vampires harassing us at night—and witches flying on brooms.” The buzz cut woman shook her head doubtfully. “It’s too much to deal with. It’s just so absurd; it’s almost laughable.”
“I know it sounds crazy. But I advise you all to find shelter. That cop was going to take you to the vampires and turn you into blood slaves.”
“What’s a blood slave?” the jock asked.
Holland sighed. “A blood slave is a person that’s forced to provide the vamps with blood on a routine basis.”
“Sounds painful,” the jock said, scowling as his hand went up to his neck protectively.
“I hear it’s very painful,” Holland warned. “So stick together and hole up in one of these empty buildings until a rescue team gets here.”
“When will that be?” Buzz cut wanted to know.
Holland shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“We heard you tell the officer that you’re headed for the armory; why can’t we go with you?”
“You’re welcome to come along,” Phoebe piped in.
“Witches only,” Holland said regretfully, wrapping an arm around her mother and guiding her away.
“Hey, you can’t leave me up here like this,” the cop yelled. “Let me off of this thing!”
“It’s all in your head, man,” the jock said. “You’re not on anything; your feet are on the ground. The witch chick is using something like Jedi mind tricks to get you to do crazy stuff.”
The cop’s eyes briefly shot down to his feet. He gasped and squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m afraid of heights; I can’t look down.”
“You’re bad off, dude,” Buzz cut said. “Seeing as though you can’t get off of whatever you think you’re on, we’re going to borrow your car . . . take some back roads to get ourselves to safety.”
“You’re stealing police property,” the cop grumbled.
“Sorry, man. We’re only borrowing it.”
The trio of buzz cut, the jock, and the scholar piled back into the squad car, and pulled off with Buzz cut behind the wheel.
As Phoebe and Holland walked along the quiet street, Phoebe looked over her shoulder at the cop that thought he was walking a tightrope “What was that all about, Holland? Where’d you learn that spell you used on the policeman?”
“Something I picked up at Stoneham.” Technically, she wasn’t telling a lie. She’d obtained the ritual from The Book of Spells, and she would have never gotten access to so many ancient rituals had it not been for her experiences at Stoneham.
“Mom, we’re closer to the armory than home. We should try to make it there. Being with Rebecca and her coven seems so much safer than being alone in our basement.”
“You said we only had an hour to get there. We’re too late.”
“It doesn’t matter. I can get through the force field, and I’ll hold it open for you.”
“Okay, but . . . what about those corpses? How are we going to get past them?”
“They seem to be congregated in the Edgemont Avenue vicinity. We can avoid them if we stay off the main streets.”
“We should have accepted the ride in the police car,” Phoebe griped.
“It seemed risky. They’ll be in a world of trouble if they bump into that cop’s brothers in blue. Besides, you’re enough of a handful,” Holland said with a sardonic smile. “I’m not capable of taking care of three additional people.”
“How am I a handful?”
“Mom, you blabbed about the armory, giving the cop the exact location of a coven of witches that are secretly trying to take down the vampires. I don’t know how I’m gonna break that news to Rebecca, but she needs to know. She may want to move the coven somewhere else, to be on the safe side.”
“Sorry. I thought we could trust a police officer. I had no way of knowing he’s working for vampires.” Phoebe looked over her shoulder again, and in the far distance, she could see the blurry figure of the cop, inching along the imaginary tightrope. “How long is he going to be on that thing?” Phoebe asked.
“No idea. First time doing that spell.”
CHAPTER 27
“What do you mean, no one showed up?” Elson raged at Ismene.
“The police brought in about twenty people while we slept during the day, but our regular donors didn’t show up.”
“Well, send someone to get them. And make sure they’re punished appropriately.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Why isn’t it?”
“We don’t know where they are.”
“Is this a joke?”
“No, Elson. Something’s going on out there. The humans are being attacked by some sort of flesh-eaters.”
Elson looked shocked. “Flesh-eaters?” he repeated in a tone of disbelief.
“I know it sounds crazy. I didn’t believe it either. I sent Travis out with Walsh and Canelli. He’ll be back soon with a report of his findings.”
“Where’s your pet? The boy, Jarrett?”
“I don’t know. I’ve tried to penetrate his thoughts, but I’m hitting a blank wall.”
“That’s odd.”
“I agree.”
“Are you concerned?” Elson studied her face.
“No, not really. He can be replaced.”
“Good to know. For a moment, I thought you were falling for the young jock.” Elson laughed mockingly.
“He thought so, too,” Ismene said with a devious smile.
“I’ve been thinking. We need to reach the people of Frombleton in a more efficient manner. Having our people go door to door is time-consuming.”
“What do you propose?”
“Tell the mayor that I want names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the registered voters in the city.”
“All right; I’ll take care of that right away.” Ismene turned to leave Elson’s suite.
“Having the list of registered voters is going to keep us pretty busy. We’re going to need help. I want that
lawyer, Bradley, to run things here at the mansion during the day. I need someone with maturity, intelligence, and business savvy. Get him on the phone and tell him I want to see him ASAP. Oh, and send someone to pick up his daughter. We’ll need to use her as leverage.”
The ding of the elevator sounded, and Elson and Ismene moved through the suite and out into the wide corridor. The doors glided open and Travis stepped out. His face, hair, and his vest were speckled with blood.
“Did you stop for snacks on the way home?” Elson asked sarcastically.
“No. I have bad news.” Travis dropped his head.
“What is it?” Elson’s voice rose in agitation.
“It’s Walsh and Canelli. They’re both gone.”
“Gone where?” Elson stepped forward, his eyes flamed.
“Those things got them.”
“The flesh-eaters?” Ismene asked.
“Yeah, they pounced on the detectives, and left behind nothing but bones.”
“Did they attack you?” Elson inquired.
“No, I’m swift. The minute I saw what happened to the two cops, I zipped myself right out of harm’s way.” A cocky grin flickered across Travis’s face, and then his somber expression quickly returned.
Elson stroked his chin as he pondered Travis’s report. “What are these flesh-eaters, and where’d they come from?”
“No idea, but there’s a lot of ’em, and they seem to be hell-bent on eating up the whole town.”
“What’s your definition of a lot?”
Travis looked toward the ceiling and gave a whistle. “I’m guessing about a couple hundred.”
“That’s not so many. Forget about the humans tonight. We have enough stored blood to last us for months. Tonight, I’m officially waging war against these flesh eaters. I’ll show them that they cannot storm into town and deplete our food supply. We’re going to kill them all!”
“Uh, I don’t know about killing them. I got the impression that they’re already dead,” Travis said. “They don’t appear to possess any intelligence. They’re motivated by hunger and respond to the scent of blood. The minute they smell the scent of warm, human blood, they start grunting and snapping their jaws.”
“Hmm. We’re dead also, but we can still be destroyed. Nothing is invincible. All we have to do is figure out what it takes to put them down for good.”
“Well, it’s not sunlight. Those snappers have been roaming the streets since last night without cease. Gunfire doesn’t kill them either. I saw a man take a shot at several of them. They fall down but they get back up, hungrier than ever.”
“You say that you zipped yourself out of their grasp, am I right?”
Travis nodded.
“Is it possible that they weren’t trying to attack you?”
“Yeah, it’s possible.”
Elson grew quiet again. His head bowed as if in prayer, he telepathically summoned his family. Heeding his silent call, within minutes, Elson’s children had come together and were congregated at the landing at the top of the grand staircase.
“As you are well aware, our human chattel didn’t show up tonight. I initially thought they were being obstinate, but I’ve discovered that they’re under attack by a strange and brutal force that devours human flesh and blood, leaving only bones.” There were angry murmurings, and Elson paused, scanning the faces of the vampires that stood clustered together, hissing like snakes and muttering profanities at the news that their food source had been stolen from them.
“A lot of work went into organizing and training our humans to surrender their blood.” Elson went silent. He tented his fingers and regarded his family. “Are we going to stand for this? Are we going to let a pack of brain-dead killers rob us of our only source of survival?” Elson cried in a voice that vibrated with rage.
“No!” the crowd of vampires roared in unison.
“You’re right,” Elson said, lowering his voice to a soft pitch. “We’re going to rid this town of these fiends and then we’ll celebrate.” He turned toward Travis. “I want you to gather weapons, and take ten of your siblings out with you. I don’t want you to take any humans with you; they’ll attract the flesh eaters with their scent. Bring back the heads of no less than twenty of these flesh eaters.”
Ismene stepped forward, ready to join Travis, but Elson seized her hand. “No! I need you here, by my side.”
“But I’m a warrior; I should be leading the battle!”
“Do not disagree with me . . . ever,” Elson said between clenched teeth.
“I apologize, Elson.” Ismene stepped back. Disappointment creased the features of her face as she watched Travis and the other vampires storming toward the elevator.
Elson waved his arm. “The rest of you, head down to the artillery room and begin assembling the weapons.” As the group of vampires hurried down the staircase, Elson looked upon Ismene. “Disagreeing with me in front of your siblings won’t be tolerated. Such disrespect warrants a severe punishment.”
“I know,” she said, her head hung low.
“But . . . because I understand your passion for battle, I’m going to give you a pass—this once, but if you ever forget your place again, you’ll find yourself outside, tethered to a tree when the sun rises.” Elson stared at Ismene with burning eyes, and then the twin flames dimmed and his gaze softened. “Now, come, let’s share a glass of chilled blood.” He reached out and smiled when he felt her cool hand slip into his.
Travis and the other vampire warriors returned an hour later, covered in blood and gore and carrying sacks filled with severed heads. Elson enthusiastically rifled through the bags, retrieving one head after another, lining them in a row on a long wooden table. “How did you accomplish this?” he asked in an excited voice.
“It was easy. Chopping off their heads is a surefire way of exterminating those buggers. They don’t get back up once their head has been severed. You were right, Elson. Taking humans along is a huge mistake. The second those snappers smell blood, they go into attack mode. But we vampires were able to walk right up on them without being detected. I have no doubt that we could end this plague tonight if we had a larger army.”
Elson furrowed his brow. “Why do we need a larger army if slaughtering them is easy?”
“They’re multiplying fast. Judging from what I saw, if they take a bite out of a human, within about fifteen minutes or so, the human becomes ravenous, and the next thing you know, he’s snarling and snapping, too.” Travis motioned to the row of severed heads. “Look at ’em. Some of them have rotted so bad, they look worse than death. Others look as alive as you or me.”
“We’re not alive, Travis,” Ismene reminded.
“True, but we give the illusion of life. We can mingle among the living, and we don’t have decaying skin, nor do we give off a telltale deathly stench.”
Elson rubbed his hands together. “Good job, Travis, but there’s still lots of work to be done. I’ve called on Chaos; he’s on his way over to lend a hand, but as you know, his group is small. We have to figure out a way to cut down as many of those creatures as possible before the sun rises.”
“May I make a suggestion?” Ismene asked.
Elson arched a brow and then nodded.
“Travis pointed out that the vampires were able to sneak up on the flesh eaters, undetected, so why not use human bait to attract them in larger numbers. While they’re busy feasting on the human, we begin our attack, swiftly beheading an entire group instead of seeking them out, one at a time.”
“Brilliant idea, Ismene,” Elson said with a gleam in his eyes.
Travis grunted in displeasure. “Ismene’s idea is not very original. I studied the behavior of those snappers when they attacked Walsh and Canelli.”
“You were too busy zipping out of harm’s way to study anything,” Ismene shot back.
Travis raked his hair out his face and glowered at Ismene. “Hey, it’s not my fault that you have to stay home and embroider, so don’t take it out o
n me.”
“You’re too stupid to even keep up with the times. Women stopped embroidering as a pastime over a century ago.”
Elson clenched his forehead wearily. “Ismene! Travis! This sibling rivalry between you two has grown tiresome; are you ever going to outgrow it?”
The doorbell rang, its haunting melody filling the historic mansion. “Ah, my comrade has arrived.” Elson signaled for Lisette to go to the formal guest entry and greet Chaos.
“While I’m bringing Chaos up to speed, I’d like for Florencia to gather the human bait and oversee their transfer from the basement to the back of the vans,” Elson told Ismene.
“I’ll speak to Florencia right away.”
“After you’ve given Florencia her instruction, I want you to join Chaos and me here, in the main room; I’d like to hear more of your ideas. I want the rest of you to fortify yourselves with blood before you go out to battle.”
“Packaged blood or fresh?” Travis inquired.
“By all means, help yourselves to the fresh blood of the humans we have in bondage. We wouldn’t want to let all that warm blood be guzzled up by those dreadful savages, would we?”
Unlike his usual exuberant self, Chaos entered the main room of the mansion wearing a troubled expression, and walking sluggishly with his shoulders slouched liked an old man. Elson gestured toward a chair, and Chaos let out a miserable groan, as if the act of sitting required great effort.
“You’ve heard about the trouble in Frombleton,” Elson said.
“Yeah, I know about it, firsthand. Sophia went home last night to get a change of clothing. She was attacked and bitten, but she got away. When she came back, she had a big ol’ chunk of meat bitten out of the back of her neck. She told me a crazy man had attacked her. I tried to clean the wound; I tried to seal it with my tongue, but nothing worked.
“She was in pain and I gave her a heavy dose of Oxy—knocked her out. When I woke up tonight, she was in my coffin with me, freaking out—yelling for me to let her out so she could go out and bite somebody.”
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