by Megan Hawke
My sister's appearance surprised me. "You're dressed?"
Sabrina grinned. "Yes. Boney claimed me for the day, so that I wouldn't be forced to perform all day in a coffin."
"Everyone else is heading for their daytime resting places," he said. Boney and I both glanced up, feeling the oppressive press of growing sunlight. "We have an opportunity. Since it's rainy, the cloud cover allows you to be out during the day. You can go home and don't have to wait for Antoinette's return tonight. We both know she won't just let you go. She'll want to play with you some more."
I glanced at the windows. It was still dark, though it would be twilight now if not for the heavy clouds and rain. It wasn't much of a rain, either. Light drizzle mostly. Who knew when the cloud cover would break? All it took was one stray beam of direct sunlight and POOF! I'm gone forever.
"I can't drive. The sun is still messing with my senses. Besides, we didn't drive over. Antoinette sent a limo."
"It's up to you," Bone replied as he took my sister by the hand. "I’m going to take Sabrina down to my coffin in the basement. That way I can honestly say I took her with me to bed. Hopefully, no one will ask when she left my side." Boney led Sabrina away. She winked at me. Sabrina knew I considered him one of my best, most skilled lovers. He caught my eyes, saying, "I bet a crafty vamp like you might call a cab or Uber, you know? The phone book in the next room, by the phone, might even be opened to the page for taxis. I bet that cab would show up right about the time Sabrina snuck away from my coffin. I could be wrong, and you actually want to play with Antoinette for a few more hours tonight. You're choice."
I watched them leave. Speechless. Bone Daddy confused me – One minute I think he is the enemy, then the next I think he is my best friend in the whole world. My BIF – Best Immortal Friend.
"Yeah, if you're so smart why didn't you call the cab yourself," I muttered, heading for the phone.
Twenty minutes later a taxi from Cowboy Cabs arrived. It took me almost that long to find the gown Antoinette sent for me to wear. Yeah, I was keeping the gown, designer label and all. I looked great in it.
The cab driver never suspected I was a vampire. Everyone knows vampires never come out in the daytime. Perish the thought. Truth was it was rare. I was miserable the whole trip, but I kept a smile plastered on nonetheless.
"Well, that's done. Make sure you never accept any favors from that woman again," Sabrina said.
"Never." I narrowed my eyes as I stared out the window. "I plan on staking her long before that can happen again."
Chapter 9
I woke up to clear skies and a 78 degree temperature. Sabrina and the boys were waiting in t-shirts and jeans. The weather forecast said the low that night wouldn't drop below mid-sixties. Yeah, nice. Warm for Dallas in March, but who was complaining?
I spent the day alone. Rare for me, but after Antoinette's orgy I was sexed out. Another rarity. Sabrina spent the day upstairs in one of the guest rooms. Heidi stayed in her own room. Dane and Gabe came over midafternoon and wiled away the time playing video games. Desiree didn't bother coming over.
"I've been thinking about how I want to run this." We were all in the family room. Heidi and I had our breakfast mugs, and the others were eating takeout Chinese. "I'll fly high above. I can swoop down pretty fast to different parts of the city far faster than staying low and flying over. We need to catch them in the act."
"I got the police band radios installed in everyone's car," Dane said. "As soon as anyone hears a call that could be an attack, announce it with the walkie-talkie function."
We all had walkie-talkie cell phones we only brought out for times like this. I, for one, found them annoying.
"All right, Heidi is patrolling Deep Ellum, Dane Lake Highlands, Gabe Mesquite, and Sabrina Uptown. That covers the areas the killers struck before." I got up and washed out my mug, then placed it in the dishwasher to dry. I almost never turned it on. Just seemed like such a waste of water. "Heidi, make sure you take your guns. Don't forget this time."
Heidi was such a typical vampire. She didn't believe she needed weapons. That was true under most circumstances, but she wasn't much older than the killer vamps so she wouldn't have an advantage. They had the advantage of numbers. Though silver wouldn't kill the vampires, new vamps really felt blessed silver more profoundly the first time they felt its burn. It takes some getting used to.
Sabrina was looking me up and down, not looking pleased.
I was vamped out. Couldn't help myself. I was back in the black leather bustier, with faded black jeans and black thigh boots. No jewelry other than big platinum hoop earrings and my black heart pendant. Yeah, I felt badass. Very vampy.
"How long can you stay up?" Dane said. "I've never known you to fly for more than thirty, forty minutes at a time."
I shrugged. "I guess we'll all find out tonight. But I don't tire like mortals. Besides, I'll be soaring and circling mostly. Easy stuff."
Vampires can get tired, but it takes a lot more to wear us out. Then we recover super fast. Truth be told, I could probably fly all the way to Houston overnight. I doubt I could fly fast enough to do a round trip in one night, but it might be fun to try. Maybe a wager with my family? How far was Houston? Two fifty, three hundred miles tops?
Everyone piled into their cars just after eight. It was full night, so safe for me to fly. Twilight meant I had to fly low, if I dared to fly at all. Weather wise, it was partly cloudy. Not enough to protect me from sunshine if I flew too high, too early.
My phone rang as I stood in the driveway, about to extend my wings. It was Longhouse.
"Hello, Longhouse. Please tell me you have an address."
"Sorry, no can do. But I did speak to Billy and Momma Zuza about your witch theory. Both agreed it could be done."
"Great. I feel so vindicated."
"Funny. Listen for once. Billy has no idea how something like that would be done. Momma Zuza said it was possible, but wasn't really feasible."
"Why not?"
"The spell would be too powerful, too draining. Few witches could perform the spell, and Momma Zuza said it would most likely have to be cast by a coven."
"So?"
"She thinks, and I tend to agree, that the more people who know, the more likely someone will talk. One witch could keep the secret, but not a coven."
"So she doesn't think a witch is behind this?"
"No."
I just grunted. Really, I didn't care what she thought. She admitted a witch could do it, so my theory was still valid. I knew of vampires being held under control using talismans. The only examples I knew of were three vamps, two held in thrall by necklaces and one by a ring that they had to wear. But no one reported the vamps wearing jewelry that could be enchanted. I didn't notice any during my one encounter with them.
"I guess we'll see who is right once we figure it all out," I said. "Dane spoke to you early about our plans?"
"Yes. I appreciate all that y'all are doing, Sable. I wish I could say the department was as grateful," he said. "Most of the patrol officers are less than thrilled to have vamps on patrol, so to speak."
"I understand. I don't blame them." Six months ago I would've agreed wholeheartedly. Amazing how dying changed a girl's perspective. "We'll be careful. You just give me a call the instant you suspect the vamps have struck again. Preferably a crime in progress."
While speaking with Longhouse I extended my wings. The feel of them erupting from between my shoulder blades was always pleasant. I loved flying. I liked the knowledge that I was the only known vampire who had such wings even more. Yeah, it kinda intimidated the other vamps.
Before leaving the house I had put on my utility belt, with two holstered pistols. My katana was strapped diagonally across my back. Everyone else in the group carried wooden stakes. We were ready to put some vamps down.
I took off, and beat a hard track towards nearby White Rock Lake. The small lake within Dallas' city limits was pretty close to centered on the area we were
patrolling. Circling the lake high above, I waited. My vision might be supernaturally keen, but even I couldn't spot every crime going down. Actually, I didn't see any. And I was up there a long time.
At midnight we all came together for lunch at a Burger King. The mortals went through the drive thru, and Heidi and I waited for them behind her SUV. She had our liquid lunch in the back of her truck. It was cold and unsatisfying, but still nourishment.
"It could be a few days before there's another killing," I said. "Most of the wolves are holed up with their packs. The vamps have to find the lone wolves, and there aren't that many."
Lone wolves like Gabe were a rarity. The packs despised them. Young wolves need guidance, discipline. Lone wolves were loose cannons, and if they misbehaved it looked bad for all the wolves. Some cities didn't have any lone wolves. The packs didn't permit it. You joined a pack, or you died. Period. Dallas/Fort Worth was once like that, but the police had a crackdown on the killings back in the eighties. So lone wolves were barely tolerated.
Gabe was an exception. He didn't have any desire to join a pack, and no pack wanted him. As much as they hated vampires, they didn't want a vampire slayer in their pack. Nothing good would come of it.
We listened to the police band in Heidi's SUV while we enjoyed our break. Lots of calls. None of them concerned us. Until an odd one came up. A disturbance, possible gang fight, outside of Primary Urges. We all froze.
"Let's go!" I took off running, extending my wings at the same time. Everyone else scramble for their vehicles. Burger King customers cried out as my wings appeared and I took off. We were only two miles from Greenville Avenue. I flew as hard as I could and dialed Longhouse's phone as I flew. "Did you hear anything on what is happening outside of Primary Urges?"
"No. Why?"
"Possible gang fight, but that club caters to witches and werewolves," I said. Just coming up on Greenville, and seeing Primary Urges down the street, I could see them fighting in the parking lot, spilling out into the street. Vicious, bloody, and a lot of them. A little bit closer and I could see their auras. "Vampires! It's them!"
I hung up on Longhouse, and called my family via the walkie-talkie function. Then with a Glock 31 in my left hand and the katana in the right, I swooped down on the fight. There were only four werewolves that I could see, and all were alphas. They had managed to morph into their wolfman forms. Even with superior numbers the young vamps had their hands full.
"Die!" I cried, and started shooting vampires.
Aaron Kagan took the first silver bullet. He screamed like a ten year old school girl. Guess he never felt the kiss of sanctified silver before. Then I shot Ronald Hartman and Norah Ulrich. They screamed just as pathetically as Aaron. All three were attacking one wolfman in the middle of the street. I landed in their midst.
Ronald leapt at my throat. My sword took his extended arm, before I spun around and decapitated him with a vicious down-stroke.
"Who controls you?" I demanded.
"Kill her!" Norah said.
They all snarled at me. I swear, there was nothing but blood rage in their eyes. Insanity. How could I get a coherent answer from them? So I lobbed off Norah's head. My backstroke disemboweled Aaron. Not a death stroke, but it always made a vamp freeze in horror. I shot him between the eyes, and followed up by decapitating him.
The remaining seven vamps piled into a blue Chevy Tahoe. They burned some serious rubber leaving that parking lot, heading south down Greenville.
"The police are on the way. Let them know these three are part of the rampaging vamp gang," I said to the wolfman before me. He was watching me warily. "Tell them that Black Heart said, 'you're welcome.'"
Leaping high, I started flying down Greenville. I kept the Tahoe in sight as I followed and rose higher and higher. Their SUV was a lot faster than me, but with height I could keep an eye on them. I called in my personally cavalry, and soon four cars and trucks were following them as well. Since I was the only one to have them in sight I broadcast every turn they made.
The remaining vampires took a serpentine route. I didn't mind. I couldn't keep up with a long, straight sprint down a highway, but had no problem following their convoluted path through Lake Highlands, Uptown, and Oak Cliff areas of Dallas. They eventually slowed down, acting normal again, and pulled into an older neighborhood.
"They stopped at a house and went inside. The SUV is in the driveway," I said. Glancing back, I saw their cars coming fast. Dane was in the lead, with Gabe, Sabrina, and Heidi bringing up the rear. "I'm going down. Look for me."
"I see you up there," Dane said. "Be there in one minute."
I landed on the sidewalk, three houses down. I couldn't sense the vampires in the house, but I could hear their racing hearts. They were alone in the house. Talk about a major disappointment. I so wanted the witch controlling them to be there waiting.
"Everyone, come here," Gabe called as he got out. "I have Uzi submachine guns for everyone."
"Fucking A," Sabrina said. She looked so damned excited. Was I ever that eager to kill vampires? Mostly, I remembered feeling sick before going in. "We're going to ruin their night with this."
Gabe grinned. Dane and I shared a worried look. Gabe was a bad influence on her. Maybe he wasn't the best person to train her, but we'd worry about that later. We had to get into our rain gear. The cheap, clear plastic hooded raincoats and pants kept most of the vampire blood off us. It was added protection for the mortals. It only took one drop of vamp blood to Change someone.
Everyone also put on plastic goggles, latex gloves and surgical masks.
"We all have swords, right?" I said. Everyone nodded. I was the only one wearing mine strapped across my back, over the rain jacket. "We'll charge in front and back, pepper them with silver, and then move in and decapitate. It would be really helpful if we could take one of them alive. Gabe and Heidi move around back. I'll signal Heidi when to charge in."
Dane, Sabrina, and I moved as stealthily as we could into their front yard. I was hoping they were so worked up that they’d fail to notice us. I doubted it, but a girl can hope. I could hear them arguing over who was to blame for their failure, and loss of Aaron, Norah, and Ronald. They gave no hint they detected us until the last minute.
"Charge!" I cried when I felt them all freeze, and then rush towards the back.
I surged straight into and through the front door, shattering it amid a loud crash. I heard Heidi and Gabe crash through the back door a second later. The last seven vamps froze between us, confused and frightened. They were just baby vamps, not even old enough to understand half of what they could do.
Five Uzis opened up on them, riddling their bodies with blessed silver bullets. They gasped and cried out. A couple squealed with the unimaginable pain. I almost felt sorry for them. I knew what it felt like to be shot with sanctified silver.
We emptied our magazines. It only took a few seconds. Pulling our swords, we charged in from two sides. It was butchery in the extreme. There was no finesse. We were packed into a small space, so we just hacked at them. Limbs and ears came off. Intestines spewed onto the floor. Copious amounts of blood. I split Jeremy Foreman's head, and decapitated Michael Aronstein. The vamps fought with insane fury to the very end.
"Wow!" Gabe cried. "That was easier than I thought it would be."
I cut a sharp look his way. There was nothing easy about that fight.
"Yeah," Dane said. "I still remember the last time we attacked a superior number of vamps like that. We didn't fare nearly as well."
"I need a bath," Heidi said. "This stupid rain suit didn't help much."
We were all covered in blood. A major drenching. Dane, Gabe, and I were used to it. If one can get used to such things. It was new to Heidi and Sabrina. Heidi was just annoyed. Sabrina was acting a bit strange. I realized she was trembling, eyes wide.
"Oh God," she whispered, and puked all over the hacked up vampires. And continued to heave and heave.
"Cut out their hearts,"
I said, grabbing Sabrina and heading for the door. "Hurry up. You have to leave fast."
I led Sabrina out into the front yard. She fell to her knees and dry heaved.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Sabrina said. "I'm all right. Really."
"Don't worry about it. I can't tell you how many times I threw up," I said.
"I didn't know. I didn't know," she said. "The blood was bad enough, but the smell…ugh!"
She was starting to get hysterical. I knelt before her, caught her eyes, and she was mesmerized. I hated doing it, but I had to calm her down.
"Everything is fine, Sabrina. Be calm. Be at peace."
"Is she all right?" Dane was leading the others out. He held a trash bag with all of the defeated vampires' hearts.
"She's fine." I helped Sabrina up, and we all stripped out of our blood-soaked rain gear. We stuffed everything in the trash bag with the hearts. I threw my utility belt and sword into the back of Heidi's SUV. The police don't like it when I'm obviously armed. "Y'all get out of here. I can hear sirens. The police will be here any minute now."
They didn't need to be told twice.
"See you at home," Dane said, then leaned in and kissed me passionately.
"I'll see a whole lot more of you when I get home, baby," I said, giving his tight rump a squeeze.
Once they were all gone, I called Longhouse as I headed back inside. He wasn't thrilled that we killed all of the vampires, but he was relieved. The killings would stop. Paranormal war averted. It was a good night.
"Warn the cops coming over that I am here, and who I am. I don't want to get shot. It ruins my clothes. Fine fetishwear is not cheap."
The house was creaking and groaning more than I thought normal. Old wood frame houses were not quiet. They shifted and adjusted. I walked through the house, checked every room. No one likes surprises. No one. My vampire senses found that the neighbors were all highly agitated by the sounds of fighting, but they hadn't come over to investigate. I was the only one in the house.
Then the ceiling crashed down all around me.
"Son of a bitch!" I was surrounded. Three men. No heartbeats. "Zombies?"