Empire of Blood [Box Set]

by Robert S. Wilson

  George found himself gripping the bottom of his chair. This was interesting news for sure.

  "For years we strategized different plans of attack and defense. And we even strategized a response in the event that the Emperor raided or attacked Necropolis as this was one of the main concerns we all had. Unknown to many, there has been a tension growing between the vampires and the Empire from the very start. And right now at this very moment, the vampires are gathering in preparation for war. And so are we. Soon we'll be joining together to fight against the Emperor, his Avengers, and the Imperial Army." Bill took a deep breath and picked up George's book. "Do you see now what this little volume could do to help us? Why now is more important than ever that this thing get out there for all to see?"

  "I sure do. Something like this could garner more support just in time to fight."

  "Exactly, George. We could even use this as a means to recruit."

  George looked at the shiny wood-varnished surface of the table that separated him from Bill for a long moment. He followed the long brown-painted grains with his eyes. "So I could be leading many people to death by putting this thing out there."

  Bill stared back at George for a moment that seemed to stretch on then finally replied. "Yes. But how many of those who will see what they've come to worship for what it truly is and fight would have otherwise fought anyway from the other side? We've never gone to war since the Emperor's been in power. What tactics do you think he'll use? Do you think he'll protect the people? No, you of all people should know he'll use the people as a shield. He'll send the men and women of this country to the front lines as he hides behind the crowd and keeps himself alive as the pages of this book show he's done for centuries longer than any man should be allowed. Let alone any man as evil as he."

  George nodded. He was beginning to really like Bill. And he was decided now for sure. This really was the best thing to do. Let them use his book to lead them in this war. Let them use it to recruit those who would help them fight and bring the Emperor down from his towering throne. After all, this was what he knew God would want him to do. It was time for bravery. It was time for George Nelson to fight back against this abomination and help make his country free again.

  Chapter 31

  A Meeting of Many Minds

  The thick heavy air was a bit much for Jack as he crept down the alleyway. He felt almost a sense of panic at the thought of breathing too much of the stuff in. As if he even needed to breathe at all. But underneath that abrasive thickness was the sweet smell of innocent blood. The boy was nearby. Somewhere on this block. The smell was too much. Jack bit his tongue with the lust of it. As much as he wanted to taste that decadent flavor of both innocence and his own revenge, Jack wanted above all to live to kill again. And that made taking the boy while surrounded by so many humans capable of hurting Jack completely out of the question. He stopped alongside a short tan-bricked building. This was the one, Jack could feel it. He might not be able to take the boy now but he could certainly prepare for when the time would come. And it would be here no doubt. Soon. Not as soon as Jack would like, but he could be a patient man when what he wanted was dire enough. And this time it certainly was. He wanted nothing more right now than to get his hands on the kid and the man who had shot him with that staking device.

  On the other side of the gravel driveway, an abandoned house stood creaking and crunching, the wind blowing in and out of its crevices with a whistling howl that would rival that of a large wolf in heat. It would have to do. He could at least hide his sore bones from the sun during the daylight hours and hunt in the city by night. And eventually… Eventually he could grab the boy and his stake-happy bodyguard, bring them back here, and take their lives right underneath the enemy’s nose.

  Slipping his way inside, Jack could smell the rot in every grain of wood, the infestations of mice, rats, and cockroaches and all sorts of other fowl creatures that had taken refuge in this tiny forsaken building. Yes, it would do very nicely. He sat down and plucked two wet rats in mid scurry across the floor and held them up in front of his face to analyze. Their little legs continued to race desperately for the other side of the room even though each movement took them nowhere. Finally the smaller one seemed to get the gist of what was going on and tried to squeeze out of Jack’s hand. Jack flexed his fingers and palm and crushed the life from the smaller rat and watched as the other rat suddenly realized what his buddy had figured out just before his quick demise. Jack held out his other hand for the living rat to see in the pale sliver of moonlight coming in through the dilapidated window until he was practically rubbing the dead rat against the living rat’s nose. The living rat’s clawing at Jack’s fingers became more desperate and its heart raced like a speeding train until it could no longer stay on the tracks and the rat convulsed one last time and went still. He tossed aside the first carcass and began to pet the second one with his still blood-covered hand as he grinned.

  “Poor guy. It’s such a powerful thing to watch the life go out of the young and the innocent. Some of us can’t bare to handle it. And yet, some of us can’t bare to get enough. Goodbye, my friend. May you find your peace on the other side if there is anything there to find.” And with that he bit deep into the rat’s thorax and took in its tiny portion of life blood. There wasn’t much, but it would hold him for a few days at least. More than enough time to formulate a solid plan.

  * * *

  Diana’s hands felt familiar, pressing firmly against Hank’s chest as they thrust their bodies together. The tears rolling down his cheeks, her voice moaning softly, the pure ecstasy of being inside her, even the sparkle in her eye were all too real to still believe he was just dreaming. But just like before he knew it wouldn’t last. And almost as if in response to that doubt, her eyes turned green, her hair red, and her fingers became claws that dug into Hank’s flesh and Rachel was raping him all over again. She arched her back and howled up into the night sky, the cloud-covered moonlight contrasting against her now solid black hair. And this time when she looked in Hank’s eyes again her irises were crimson and he knew it was the Queen all along. The link between them. She was using it to enter his dreams. But why?

  The Queen put the tip of her claw up to Hank’s lips and shushed him with a lustful grin. Even the finest blade must be tempered. You, young one, have much to learn before you’re ready to live up to your true destiny.

  And with that she threw her head back again in the throes of orgasm and slammed her hips against him with an inhuman speed that even Hank couldn’t handle. He came inside her in an almost explosive release of anguish and stress that he knew would only replenish just as soon as it was over. When they were done and the air became still and heavy with the sweat and smell of their bodies, she rolled off of Hank and lay beside him. He closed his eyes hoping the dream would end. But it wouldn’t be that simple, would it? She embraced him then. You are mine now, young one. She brushed her hand along his chest and down his stomach until her fingertips were gently massaging the head of his penis. Hank’s body stiffened with the pleasure of her touch, even now after his body should have been spent. Is this really so bad that you would want to get away?

  Hank looked in her eyes then and an anguish waved through him behind the involuntary physical pleasure that was overloading the rest of his senses. A new emotion was growing within him toward her. Maybe even the first one for her he could truly understand. A slow growing animosity, an almost simmering hatred that needn’t boil over but simply consistently existed in order to quell that sense of control being taken away from him. That sense of rape that he’d only ever experienced once before in his life until now. And what was worse was knowing that this was exactly why she did it. Knowing his every thought as he did, she smiled at him and with the hand that had been massaging him, she rolled his eyelids closed as though he were a newly expired corpse. And when he opened them again he was lying alone in his bed, the only thing remaining of their spectral meeting still stiff between his legs. He w
orked to finish himself, fighting to think of nothing at all yet unable to stop seeing the burning image of her fierce eyes staring down at him from her glistening goddess-like body. And as his muscles clenched with his release he wept with a loud moan of pleasure conjoined with loss.

  * * *

  That evening when the last of the sun’s heat dissipated outside, a hundred thousand vampires rose as one from deep within the cave. Every single consciousness was a light inside her mind turning on together like a million candles lit in unison. She felt the blood flow through each and every one of them and the pulse quicken as each of them remembered what the night ahead held in store for all. And in their varying reactions she sensed an overwhelming fear strong enough that even she could succumb to it if it were allowed to take her in and swallow.

  My dear children, calm yourselves. We are many, we are one.

  And with that the majority of them exhaled a deep breath and steadied their flashing synapses to focus on the task ahead without drowning in the worry of how things might turn out.

  * * *

  The tension in Bill Whindsor’s little rental car was almost replacing all of George Nelson’s oxygen as they whipped left and right along the curvy road beneath them. Thick trees and woods adorned both sides of the road everywhere he looked. Neither of the men had spoken from the time they left the terminal of the New Orleans International Airport. They’d only exchanged glances a number of times and only in reaction to the voice of the GPS abruptly filling the silence with its loud monotone female-like drone.

  Unsure what else to do, George leaned his seat back and closed his eyes. Before long, he woke in nearly complete darkness and feeling disoriented as the car slowed to a stop. Bill pushed the gearshift into park and killed the engine. Distant sounds of reptiles and birds chipped at the outside of George’s window as Bill cleared his throat.

  “Well… we’re here,” he said with finality.

  The two just looked at each other for a moment and then fumbled out of their seatbelts and out of the car. It could have been the beginning of a horror movie from old for all the sounds of the night and sense of foreboding that came with realizing you were hopefully all alone in the dark. Except in this case, George knew they wouldn’t be alone for long. There was no guessing, no hopes of not meeting monsters, because on this very night they would come face to face with just that. Real life monsters. About a hundred yards to the east a large black semi truck and trailer stood parked in the middle of nowhere. It was barely visible save for the glint of moonlight that caressed its shape with a blue-gray glow.

  A huge fire burst from in front of the car a few hundred feet ahead. In the firelight, several pale shapes dressed in dark clothing could be made out standing behind the huge yellow flame.

  “Welcome, Mr. Whindsor and Mr. Nelson. We understand you’ve both only recently made each other’s acquaintance as well, so maybe you’ll be prepared for yet another meeting of new minds,” a thin voice called from behind the fire.

  George held back the urge to complain about the near heart attack their little pyrotechnics had nearly caused him and gave a lame sort of wave against his body’s unwillingness to move.

  Bill bowed respectfully and called out a hello.

  The next moment the vampires were there standing all around the two men, not menacingly, but so suddenly that it startled both of them into a quick jump of fright. They stood tall, dressed in suits, their fangs very obviously visible outside of their lips. They seemed to wait in a mockery of human patience and courtesy. The one in the middle, with blond hair and blue eyes and the look of a man in his mid thirties stepped forward and held his hand out to George. With a hand shaking more than extending, George shook the cold clammy hand and tried not to explode in utter terror.

  The vampire smiled at him as if to say he knew how terribly painful and frightening this was to the old man and yet with a sense of familiarity as well.

  Then he turned to Bill and shook his hand.

  “Gentlemen, I am Simon. I’m afraid Ishan could not be with—“

  A voice called from behind George and Bill, “I’m so sorry I’m late, friends. Please,” and then before George could even turn around a short man with long black hair and a charming yet troubled smile on his face took both George and Bill’s hands and shook them simultaneously in a strange sort of custom unfamiliar to George.

  “I am Ishan, and who might you be? I’m afraid I was otherwise occupied when this meeting was set in motion.”

  The two men introduced themselves and George noticed the livid tension between the two vampires he now stood between. Looks like there’s trouble in Vampire Paradise. Eventually the niceties turned to business and places were set for everyone to gather around the fire and strategize.

  “The best we can tell, the Imperial vampires disappeared a few days ago. No more road blocks, no more harassing people out of their homes, not a single sign of them has been noticed since. It’s almost as if they went into hiding. So, I’m inclined to think that’s exactly what they’ve done. They’re hiding long enough to divert our attention or to strategize their next move,” Bill said as he continued to draw aimlessly in the mud with a broken stick.

  “That makes sense, however, I would be concerned that it’s possible they already know where we are and that the Foederati are helping us. It’s better to assume the worst at this point, otherwise we won’t be ready when the worst comes knocking on our door.” Ishan sat crouched forward moving his hands over the fire as he spoke. Even the other vampires seemed to be wary of this strange behavior. “Are the Foederati factions ready to move?”

  “Each one is standing its local ground, awaiting orders. At this point our years of planning and strategizing have run out of usefulness. I mean we certainly never accounted for rogue or enemy vampires being in the mix. It drastically complicates making any concrete decisions when we have no idea where they are or what they’re up to.” Bill set his stick aside and sat back returning Ishan’s gaze with an expression of being backed against a wall and asserting himself.

  “I completely understand, Mr. Whindsor, there’s no need to get defensive. We too have been acting on impulse,” he gave the blond vampire a bitter glance, “but the time has come for regrouping and decisive action. I would ask that you send every faction within a five hundred mile radius to help protect the hive as being near the Queen is the best chance any of us have of fighting back when they do finally attack.” Staring into the fire, Ishan stood and took his hand out of the flames and spit in his open palm creating a loud popping sizzle. Then he rubbed his hands together and faced Bill. “You might even consider sending the rest of your factions in an entirely different direction to help take some of the focus away.”

  Bill nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. It’s not just up to me. But I think you’re right. But before we do anything I think you need to hear what George here has to say.” Bill turned to George and patted him on the back. George smiled at his new friend and looked into what felt like the heart of darkness: the vampires standing silently around him. But once he started talking the fear dropped away piece by piece the more he spoke. He told them about his days working with Caesar, about the book that he received. He told them about confronting Caesar and waking up in the hospital from the coma. They listened in anticipation as he told them what he had seen in the book. Bill began handing copies around to them as George described the things within their pages.

  After several hours of discussion of what the Emperor could be, what could have kept him alive all those years, and what this information could do to wake the citizens from their religious slumber, Bill and George became worn out and were given leave to return to a nearby safehouse. There was still much to be decided and much to learn, but for tonight they had exchanged as much as they could. Tomorrow would be another day.

  Chapter 32

  Deadly Dreams

  The familiar smell of sulfur was building again and Hank tried with every ounce of his being to will himsel
f away from the trail he was following. A tall building near to crumbling told him it was time to turn the corner again and his body obeyed without a second’s hesitation as though he wanted to take part in what would happen. Toby’s heartbeat picked up again once Hank was past the corner. It drowned out the sounds of war that Hank so vividly remembered from before. Nothing was different from the last time he experienced this vision except for the fact that this time he knew how it would end and he simultaneously tried to stop himself and take in every detail he could. Maybe something important would help him find a way to prevent it.

  Toby’s scent floated over the road, the mangled cars, and the huge pieces of concrete, steel, and mortar scattered everywhere. To Hank’s right, the blood’s odor came from an open alleyway almost powerfully enough to knock him back. And right there against the brick wall sat that blue dumpster where his little boy was trying to hide from his terrible monster of a father.

  The anguish of every step closer distracted Hank from taking in the details and before he knew it, Toby’s body was being lifted from the dumpster by that pale, sculpted hand that couldn’t be pried loose. The smell of sweet young flesh hiding the most delicate life’s blood overpowered Hank then and he tore into the boy’s neck and began to suck the crimson nectar from within. Toby kicked and screamed and clawed at Hank’s hand.

  “DAD!”

  But Hank only drew the blood out faster, letting it pool into the back of his throat and then taking large gulps of pure ecstasy. And then as this future consciousness began to fade, the last thing he saw was the first memories of a little boy—his little boy—lying in the dark in a deceptively huge playpen and feeling so very scared and alone.