by Dale Mayer
He really didn't look good. She asked, "So he's not looking that way because of his age?"
"Hell no. He's older than we are, but not by that much."
Ian piped up, "He looks like Moltere."
That name caught everyone's attention. "You have a good eye for details, Ian," Goran said, "He's from the same family line. Their fathers were brothers. One winged and one not."
"There aren't going to be many left after this culling," said David. He glared down at the old vamp. "He looks dead now."
"Well, I'm not," snarled the old vamp. "And if it's my time, so be it. It will be yours soon enough."
There was just enough power in his voice to make Tessa wary. "Who is the second male?"
Cody kicked the younger vamp lying crumpled on the floor where he'd tossed him. "Another henchman, maybe. I don't know him. I've recognized so few here that I have to wonder where they've all come from."
The old one spoke again, "Many don't know anything other than this farm. They don't know the towns and cities around the world. They've spent their years living here and in other similar places. He's one of them."
Surprised, the group stared at each other.
"Never going to school? Council meetings? Friends? Family?"
"Their friends and family are all here. Those that you've left behind."
Tessa walked closer and bent to study the younger vamp's face. She gasped.
"Tessa?" She shook her head and lifted the vamp’s chin to get a better angle. The vamp was young. Older than her by a couple of decades maybe. And he looked familiar. Why? She didn't recognize his energy. The color was normal, healthy if not vibrant. But there was something...off about it.
"I've seen his face or someone similar to him before." She straightened but continued to stare down at him, urging her brain to kick in fast. "But I can't place him."
"Not him. He lives in here."
She studied the old guy. "Maybe he does, but I recognize him or his family line from somewhere."
The old guy snorted. "You are nothing. Just a girl. An odd one at that."
"So true. And you are nothing but a diseased animal," she retorted. "The real question is what to do with you. We came here to meet with the bosses, but you two aren't them."
The old ancient struggled to rise as anger flashed on his face. But then he crumpled to the ground where he lay gasping. "Why can't we be the bosses?"
Jewel stepped forward. "Because you are too weak. The younger bosses would have risen up and taken your spot."
So true. Tessa studied his skin. He really didn't look good. She glanced over at her father. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing. He was already injured or dying when we got up there." Serus shrugged defensively. "We didn't do anything."
"I wonder if Jewel isn't right. And did that takeover do this to him?" She bent over and opened the old ancient's coat.
"Whoa Tessa, what are you doing?" David asked.
"Looking for the damage." She found a long shallow slice in the ancient's shirt. Several of them. Meticulously sliced into the skin, but so very shallow that it was not that noticeable. His neck held the same marks. "Look. I bet they took a silver stake and swiped it across his skin. Or something silver at least. Not enough to incinerate him. Not enough to kill him even, just enough to poison him. A long, slow death."
"Ugh." Ian bent at her side. "That's just mean."
Jewel shook her head, her face twisting in revulsion. "Wow, someone hates you."
"Hated. He's dead." The old ancient glared at her. " I will be too, soon."
"And the young guy. Was he on your side?"
The ancient nodded but the effort seemed to be too much, and he collapsed back on the floor. "He's the one that killed my attacker. There were two of them. Thought I'd be easy. We showed them."
"Do you know who is trying to take your place? Who is the new boss now?"
A faint smile drifted across the ancient's face. "There will be two – until they fight to the death."
"A challenge?" Goran asked. "Haven't had one of those in a long time."
Serus spoke up, "And I doubt there will be one now. Chances are that one will kill the other before it comes to a proper fight."
The ancient laughed and laughed, but the sound was so broken and pained that it just felt off. Tessa wanted to calm him down, offer him some comfort, but at the same time she wanted to stab him with silver and finish him off.
"You think you know what's going on here, but you don't know anything. Many fingers are spreading out into the world. You can try, but you'll never stop this. It's too big. Too widespread."
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we can't shut this mess down on our end."
The old ancient coughed several times, blood and something else sliding from the corner of his mouth as he collapsed yet again. "Maybe, but you don't know who you're really fighting with or against. I'm the last on my level. Moltere will not survive the experiments that I volunteered him for. We used to be partners. Now the young dogs will fight." A horrible rictus of a grin slipped out, making Tessa shudder.
"You hung Moltere up there? Why?"
"He carried our bloodline. Thought we could put it into other lines. Create bigger, better vamps."
"Well you did do that," Cody snapped. "But they are also more stupid."
"Yeah, but then they weren't all that bright in the first place. Look at what they signed up for."
"And Darren? What did that kid ever do to you? He's a young vamp. He could have had a wonderful life."
"That was young Jacob's idea. He hated Darren. Wanted him gone. So I put him in the experimental program. He can't survive the farm either. No vamp can. Or humans, for that matter."
"Are you sure about the humans? Some of them are young. They haven't been hanging for very long."
"Maybe the younger ones in the new farm. But not the others. Too late for them." He tried to shrug, but the movement obviously hurt too much. He opened his mouth and gasped, "No matter. It's too late for all of you as well."
A short silence swept over everyone.
Cody leaned down and grabbed the ancient by the shoulders. "Why? What have you done?"
"Me, nothing." He could hardly get the words out. "It's the new boss. It's what he's done. And you have no idea who that is. And you aren't going to like it when you find out."
Cody shook the dying man hard. "Who are you talking about?"
A weird rattling sound came loose and the ancient's eyes rolled into the back of his head.
Cody dropped him back down.
The frail ancient barely made a thud as he hit the floor.
Goran bent over and checked for a pulse, then looked up at the group. "He's dead."
*.*.*
Jared hid in the shadows, cursing that he'd stayed behind all alone. Surely someone else could have stayed behind with him. He didn't use to hate being alone. But after almost being hung in that damn place, it was a little hard to not think about those that lurked in the dark.
Vampires. God, he hated them.
That thought pulled him up short. Because he didn't. Not really. He hated the asshole vamps. The ones who'd put in the farm, but he didn't hate Rhia or David and certainly not Tessa. Although Cody... No, he might be an asshole and after Tessa, but hate was too strong a word for how he viewed him. Besides, the guy had a hand in saving Jared's ass.
The sound of a truck coming up the road brought his head around from the garage entrance he'd been watching. Given the fact that Jared was more or less helpless against a vamp’s strength, he'd been half hoping that the bad vamps wouldn’t come up to the surface.
Typical.
The sound of a heavy engine grew louder. He considered his position, then decided to slip around the side of the house just in case these guys were looking to go inside. He'd have no place to go should that be the case. Alternatively, he could run across and hide near the garage entrance to the blood farm.
As he quickly considered the pros and cons, he realized that his view would be much better from the other side.
He dashed across and slipped into the shadows just as a vehicle came into view.
*.*.*
Rhia managed to step to the side at the last minute as the door opened, letting two vamps in. She jumped the first one and pulled him into a headlock as two of the guards that had followed her jumped the second. Neither intruder made a sound as they collapsed to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Rhia pulled the helmet off the first man.
She didn't know him at all. "Anyone know this guy?"
"Yeah, he works for Councilman Stenger."
Rhia looked up and pinned him in place. "Are you sure?"
The guard nodded. The second guard beside him spoke up. "He's a bodyguard."
Rhia looked over at Sian, a question in her eyes.
"I'd take him out. If he didn't come here with us, he came here because he knew of the place."
"Anyone got a problem with that?"
She didn't get a chance to get an answer. Councilman Adamson reached down and did something. The vamp jerked once, then a second time before becoming still.
Rhia stepped back and stared at him. "What did you do?"
He held up his hand to show her a weird metal ring that released a sharp object when he flipped a tiny switch. "It's a special alloy. A blend of silver and other metals. It kills vamps but doesn't burn them."
The closest guard walked over. "It would be better to burn them. This way, we have to deal with the body."
"And what about this second one," asked the guards standing over the second motionless vamp. "Same thing?"
"Take off his helmet," the councilman said.
When they did, Rhia gasped and said, "But that's Jacob's brother."
Sian looked down at the vamp on the ground. "I don't know Jacob or this one. I've seen him around of course, but never had a name to put to him."
"He's also an apprentice at the council. Also to Councilman Toncher." Councilman Adamson frowned, pulled out his cell phone and texted someone.
Rhia waited for him to make a decision. She was all for culling the vampire society of the assholes, but they had to make sure that they were assholes. And how did one know?
Adamson's cell phone rang. "Gloria?" He appeared to listen for a bit, and then nodded. "Okay, we have Jordan and Paul, the apprentice on the council. Make a note somewhere so we can keep track of who is involved. Right." He closed his phone, nodded to the guards and said, "Kill him. From here on out, if the vamps are in the wrong place, we kill them."
The guard pulled out some kind of small gun and before Rhia could blink, Jacob's brother burned to ash. She stepped back, realizing how deep and destructive these next few days were really going to be.
"Let's go." Councilman Adamson said, "We're behind schedule."
David looked down at the vamp near Cody's feet. "Hard to get answers from a dead man."
"Good thing we brought along a spare." Goran grabbed the second man and tossed him in front of the group. The vamp groaned.
Tessa turned away. The whole killing while in the midst of a battle was one thing. Torturing them for answers, that was a whole other issue. She couldn't do it.
She felt more than saw someone come up beside her. Jewel. A sick looking Jewel.
"Not into torture?" Tessa asked lightly, already knowing the answer.
Jewel's skin took on a greener tinge. She shook her head, sending her hair flying everywhere. "So not," she whispered. "I can't stand what this whole place is about. I so want to leave."
"Let's hope he hands over the answers we need," Tessa answered quietly. "Personally, I've had enough death for a lifetime. And considering how old we can live, that is saying something."
"A couple of weeks ago, I'd never have believed everything we've gone through was even remotely possible."
"Nor would I." Tessa studied the dark blank walls of the strange room. "I went to the movies with a group of friends and started a war."
"It's not your fault," Jewel said softly. "You know that, right?"
Tessa quirked her lips in response. "Still..."
"No." Jewel shook her head again. "We needed to know. Needed to stop this. Needed to save those poor people."
"I don't think they can be saved." And that was a hard pill to swallow. "We did this to them. What kind of animals are we?"
"Not us. The others. The old ones."
"Not all of them or all of us. Goran and my parents had nothing to do with this. And we can’t say none of the younger group had anything to do with this – look at Jacob."
There was a sad silence.
"We can only be responsible for our own actions." Jewel stared out into the darkness but from the unfocused look in her eyes, Tessa knew she wasn't really seeing anything.
"True enough. And be authentic to who we are every step of the way."
At that statement, Jewel turned to look at her. "I've learned more about myself these last few days than all the years I've been alive."
"You already knew who you were, you just became better acquainted," Tessa said fairly. "You're still the same girl. Just remembering, understanding, and recognizing who and what that is."
Jewel laughed lightly. "You're years younger than me and in some ways years older."
"Yeah, sometimes life dishes out things and what you thought you were getting turns out to be something completely different." Tessa smiled. "I've just learned to take it and say thanks anyways."
Jewel smiled, the first real smile Tessa had seen out of her in a long time.
She opened her mouth, hesitated and then said slowly, softly, "I want to apologize."
Tessa turned to face her more fully. She tilted her head and looked at Jewel. Her face looked so sad. What was this all about? "Really? For what?"
"For before." Jewel said painfully. "For the way I treated you. I didn't know you. But I knew you, or thought I did. And like all the others, I laughed and said some things that I'm not proud of now."
Tessa was silent, wondering what it cost the other girl to admit that. "I can't say it doesn't matter, because back then, it did matter," she said honestly. Sometimes it had hurt a lot. "People did a lot of stuff to hurt me. To make themselves feel better at my expense. And it was painful."
She sighed. "But like you said, you didn't know me. And like you also just said, you've learned a lot about who you really are. So what matters... is what you do from here on out."
Jewel stared at Tessa. Her face was blank, as if she hadn't expected that response. And true enough, Tessa hadn't expected it either. It sounded a little too philosophical to be her own words. The thing was, as she thought about all that she'd discussed with Jewel, they were true. And she meant every word she said.
Tears came to Jewel's eyes.
Tessa gasped. "Oh don't cry. Please don't cry."
Jewel laughed, yet tears still pooled in the corners of her eyes. "I never cry."
"I always figured it was just my throwback genes," Tessa joked, hoping it would stop the waterworks before they really got started.
"No." Jewel wiped the corner of her eyes. "I am tired, and feeling shitty, but that's not the only reason. You are a good person, Tessa, and I for one have learned to see beneath the surface to what is really on the inside."
"And that's a good thing," Tessa joked, "'Cause my brother is uuugly!"
Jewel gasped, then burst into howls of laughter.
David chose that moment to approach them, his face both wary and curious. "Okay, so what the hell is going on over here?"
Tessa grinned at him. "Oh nothing. Just a little girl talk."
David's step faltered. And now he looked worried. Jewel couldn't stop laughing. She took the last few steps and hurled herself into David's arms. He gave Tessa one last wary look before wrapping his arms around Jewel and holding her close.
I heard that. Cody's warm v
oice swept through her mind, melting her insides. Nice job.
Someone had to let her off the hook. She didn't do anything different from everyone else.
Not me. Besides, that's nasty girl type behavior.
It is. But then lots of guys like to get in touch with their feminine side.
The gasp of horror in her mind had Tessa laughing. She turned to find him in the crowd and saw him beside her father, staring at her.
Not a hobby of yours?
He glared at her. So not.
She giggled
Serus glanced at Cody. "Did you say something?"
"Only to your irritating daughter," Cody snapped. Then realized what he'd said and to whom. He groaned and backed up quickly. "Sorry, sir."
Serus laughed. "Don't apologize to me. You're just starting on this journey. I've been living with her mother for centuries. You've got a lot to learn."
"And you're blessed to have mom, aren't you, Dad?" Tessa walked close enough to stand between the two men. When he didn't answer, she repeated her last sentence with force, "Aren't you, Dad?"
He chuckled. "That I am. And you, for that matter."
She grinned and was reaching out to Cody when the vamp on the ground suddenly surged up in a smooth move. Something flashed in his hand.
"Look out," Goran shouted.
Cody and Serus stepped forward to grab him, but he spun and twisted and stabbed. Goran's hand flashed. But not fast enough.
As the prisoner drove a silver spike through Tessa's hand.
*.*.*
Jared watched as the vehicle pulled up and parked. It was an old car. Beaten up and rusted out. So not what Jared had been expecting. The driver got out. He looked human, but Jared wasn't exactly betting that he was a good human. A lot of bad humans had taken part in this blood farm.