by S. L. Eaves
“We kick off the night with a vampire who's no stranger to the ring. Going for his fifth, that's right folks – fifth straight win is Julian.”
The crowd erupts. Rex and Xan look around, it seems to have doubled in size. A teenager bounds into the arena. Nico slips out and shuts the door behind him. A female vampire grins into the cage as she padlocks the door and holds up a pair of knives before tossing them into the floor of the arena.
The teenager is tall and muscular, built like a varsity jock. He does back flips and flexes his muscles; the crowd goes wild.
Dade stands along the wire frame wall, suppressing laughter.
“Shake hands then go to opposite corners until the bell rings. Fight goes until one of you is dust,” Nico circles the outside of the cage, holding a microphone and gesturing dramatically at the two.
Julian extends his hand and approaches Dade. Dade looks to Nico who gives him an encouraging nod, then reluctantly shakes it.
The bell dings.
Julian jumps onto the side of the cage and descends on Dade. Dade snatches him by the neck midair, flips him over. By the time his back hits the mat, his neck is broken and Dade doesn’t have to exert much force to free Julian's head from his body. The entire match is over in three seconds.
There's a collective gasp from the crowd. Wiping dust off his feet, Dade stands and smiles when he sees Quinn grinning back over her drink.
“Glad you changed your mind,” Xan whispers in her ear.
“I’ll never abandon him. I just needed him to know I disapprove.”
She flags down a cocktail waitress and swaps her empty glass with a full one.
Dade moves towards the door and Nico greets him with two more vampires. Waving at Dade to go back in. The two others enter.
“Wow. Just wow. Did you see that? Because if you blinked you missed it. Not such an underdog now is he? Let's hear it for Dade!”
After what one could interpret as a moment of silence for their departed champion, the crowd begins to recover from its state of shock as Nico raises the microphone and the cheering resumes. Dade seems oblivious to all of it. He just stands in the center of the cage staring down Nico and his sidekicks.
“Folks we’ve got a special treat tonight. Since Dade came all this way we want to make it worth his while. Our next two fighters are going to join him in the arena. Three go in, one comes out. Place your bets now!”
The crowd stirs, tossing bets slips from the last fight to the floor as they drift over to the cashier's window.
“What the hell?” Rex starts towards the cage door in protest.
Quinn grabs his arm and pulls him back over.
“Let them haze him all they want, he’ll be fine.”
Dade crosses to their side of the ring.
“They keep this up, I may be able to take care of our problem one by one,” he laughs. “Line 'em up.”
He bends down and kisses Quinn through the wires.
A few minutes later the bell dings and several more weapons are thrown into the center of the arena where the girl previously tossed the knives. Both vampires ignore the weapons and charge Dade. He flings them back with ease as he picks up one of the curved blades. Seconds after it leaves the floor it’s slicing through a vampire’s neck.
The remaining vampire jumps Dade from behind. He grabs him with his free hand and rips him off his back. The vampire bounces against the cage wall, lands on his feet and charges him again. This time Dade turns sideways to evade his lunge and catches him in the back with the blade, just below the right shoulder. He slices it upward, lifting the vampire off the floor as he raises his arm and thrusts the tip of the blade through to his neck.
The crowd chants “Kill!” as the vampire dangles from the knife, kicking back at Dade in a desperate attempt to break free. Dade rips the blade loose and the vampire hits the mat, blood pooling around him. He tucks in his knees and begins to rise to his feet. Dade circles him, steps on his back, pinning him as he brings the knife down on his neck. It slices clean through, leaving Dade standing in a pile of dusty remains.
Dade looks over his shoulder at Quinn, blood dripping from the blade.
“Was that just the warm up?”
The crowd is going crazy. Dade has officially won them over. Nico swings open the cage door and raises Dade’s hand.
“Our new champion! Anyone else care to challenge him tonight? I’ll throw in two extra liters of blood from my personal stock.”
The crowd quiets.
“No takers? Okay then. That’s a wrap for tonight. Be sure to return at sundown tomorrow.”
Nico escorts Dade out, Quinn runs up and throws her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. Then just a quickly she pulls back and punches him in the arm.
“Don’t do something that reckless again, okay?”
“Hey,” Nico interjects, “if you two want to do a doubles thing that can be arranged. Two on two fights bring twice the money.”
He relieves Dade of his weapon, patting him on the back, “Come on big guy, time to claim your winnings.”
Nico leads them down a flight of steps at the end of a hallway.
“Winnings?” Xan asks.
Nico smiles, as he holds up a key fob. “Yes, sir.”
He swipes the key fob. Xan and Rex exchange glances. Rex nudges Xan as he observes the security camera. The door opens and they pass a hallway full of closed doors. Nico checks his phone for confirmation.
“Lucky number thirteen,” he announces as he stops in front of the door. He swipes his fob and the door slides open. “This is your suite. You three can wait in here. I think you'll find the accommodations more than suitable. Dade, you’re with me.”
Quinn starts to object. Nico raises his hand.
“I’ll have him back in a minute,” he assures her. He gestures for them to head inside. “You need anything, there’s a buzzer by the door.”
Dade follows Nico around the corner and down a dark, narrow corridor.
“Where are we going?”
Nico just smiles. A vampire at the end of the hall greets them and opens the door with a set of keys.
“All you buddy.” Nico gestures at the door. “I’ll wait out here.”
Dade follows the vampire into a dimly lit room that smells of blood and fear.
“You got a type?” the man asks. Dade freezes and stares unblinkingly into the room.
“They all humans?”
“Yep, take your pick. Gender. Blood type. Whatever your preference. We dope them pretty good to get them here, but most of the sedatives are out of their systems by now. Re-doping cost extra. We offer a selection of cocktails, too. Uppers and downers which we administer through the IVs on their arms.”
Men and women sit along the perimeter of the room, bound and gagged, metal chains around their necks clamp them to the wall. Most are young, twenty-somethings dressed for a night on the town, likely ripped from bars and nightclubs in Vegas. When they see the two vampires they begin screaming into their gags.
Dade looks around the room, trying to keep his composure.
“Uhh…”
The vampire raises his eyebrows, twirls a keyring in his hand.
“That one,” Dade points to the youngest looking girl in the bunch. A petite blonde with mascara running down her face.
“Nice choice, champ,” the vampire smiles as he unlocks the chain from the wall and yanks her from the floor. He hands her chain to Dade. Without prompting, Dade moves for the door. When the girl refuses to follow he picks her up and throws her over his shoulder.
Nico nods when he emerges. “Good timing. We're going to bleed a bunch of them out soon, a lot are starting to fade on us. Got to keep the stock fresh, but bringing them in alive has proven difficult lately.”
“Have you ever tried a blood bank?” Dade asks.
Nico crinkles his nose at the suggestion. “We prefer it fresh from the source.” He smiles devilishly at the girl, “Besides where's the fun in drinking from pla
stic medical bags?”
Dade shakes his head. “Where I'm from we have alternative sources. We might be able to help you with your problem. It's better than old dead blood you find in freezer bags. Pro'ly bring in a few extra bucks to your operation here.”
“Sure,” Nico offers indifferently. “We're open to exploring other options.”
When Dade enters the suite carrying the girl, the others look up from the television in shock. The door shuts behind him and he gently lowers the girl to the ground.
“Sit,” he commands. The girl obeys, pulling her knees into her chest as she looks around at the others, eyes full of fear.
“She was kicking me the whole way here.” He explains to the others.
Quinn sets her drink down on the bar.
“Dade, why did you bring a human here?”
“She's my prize. They have a whole room full of humans. Best I can tell they’re kidnappin’ them from bars and such. Druggin’ them. And holding them captive.”
“Oh God.” Rex gets up from the couch and goes to the girl, dropping to his knees. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not who you think we are. We’re not going to hurt you.”
He turns to Xan. “Are there cameras in here?”
Xan shakes his head, “None that I’ve spotted.”
“Shit,” says Quinn, “What the hell are we going to do now?”
“All I gotta say is I’m glad Lori isn’t here. One look at that room and she’d have blown our cover for sure,” Dade goes to the bar and pours himself a tall drink.
“Well, about that...” Xan runs his hands along the wall, eyes on the device in his hand. Seemingly satisfied at his lack of findings, he pockets the device and looks up at the others who regard him expectantly. “We have to preserve our cover right? I mean we gotta think big picture here.”
“Can we leave here with her?” Rex asks, desperate to find an alternative.
“Good question. What if we tell them we turned her?” Quinn suggests.
“That could work…Wouldn’t we have to bite her though? Make it look convincing?”
“And they'll be able to hear her pulse if any get close enough.”
Dade grunts. “After what I just did in the ring, they won't get close.”
Rex runs a towel under the sink and brings it to the girl. She sits still while he cleans off her face, wipes blood from her hair.
“We’re going to get you out of here. We need your cooperation. You think you can do that?”
The girl stares at him, looks at the others seemingly weighing her options, then nods slowly.
“Good.”
They hit the button on the door and it slides open. The coast is clear and Quinn leads them back the way they came. When they approach the stairwell to the arena the door slides open before they reach it.
Quinn looks back at Xan for clarification. He shrugs, points at the cameras in the hallway.
They stop when they see who’s standing on the other side.
“Malik?” Their unified reaction to his presence in the doorway brings a smile to his face.
“Well hello to you, too,” he says, greeting them warmly. “I see you’ve found my new digs. Welcome.”
He turns to the vampire at his side.
“Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute.”
The vampire slips past them down the hallway.
“Your new digs?” Rex doesn’t try to hide his bewilderment.
Malik leans into Rex, lowers his voice. “You shouldn't have come here.”
“What are you doing here?” Quinn asks.
Before Malik can respond, Nico materializes from somewhere behind them.
“Leaving already?”
They turn to see him walking up from the opposite end of the hallway.
“Yeah…uhh…we have somewhere we need to be before sunrise,” Xan explains. “Not that we don’t appreciate your hospitality.”
“With the human? She’s still alive,” Nico remarks. His face registers a mix of confusion and disappointment.
“Not for much longer, we’re turning her,” Dade covers.
Xan nudges him. Their story isn’t going to work in front of Malik.
Nico pats Dade on the shoulder. “Found a keeper, did ya big guy?” He turns to Malik. “Hey Boss, you missed quite a performance earlier. Dade here took down Julian and a pair of new recruits.”
“Impressive,” Malik forces a smile. There's a healthy mix of tension and confusion as they all seem to be searching for what to say next.
Malik has been around for centuries and has close ties to the Purebloods. He is believed to be a direct descendent of Adrian, the Pureblood who'd sired Catch. One of Adrian's last acts before stepping into the sun was ordering Catch to turn Lori. She was brought in to help them win a war Malik had elected not to participate in.
They reunited under Vega, with Malik assisting them with Trion in Alaska. He'd since taken up residence at the mansion on a part time basis. Overall, Malik has had limited interaction with them over the years. He is mostly a nomadic vampire who seldom stayed in one place long enough to get too friendly with any of his kind.
In a world where survival is heavily dependent on allegiances it is considered atypical behavior, but nothing worthy of an eyebrow raise. His sudden appearance here, however, is shocking to say the least.
Doing his best to appear unflustered, Malik addresses Nico with a tone meant to allay any suspicions. “They tell you they're from England? Old blood. I know them from way back. Mind giving us a few to catch up?”
“Right. Sure. I should've realized that. I'll leave you to it. Holler if ya need me.”
With that he slips out of sight.
Malik points up the stairs. “You guys better get going then. I heard you ran into some trouble back in Europe. Glad to see you’re okay.”
“We have to talk.” Rex stares him down, unmoving.
“Yeah, that’d probably be a good idea. Where can I find you guys? I’ll swing by tomorrow night.”
Malik turns and leads them past the arena and towards the exit. “Alone, of course. Preferably someplace away from here.”
He nods at an overhead camera as he waits for the others to join him by the exit.
“I want to clear the air. I’m not looking for trouble. We were allies once, I’d like it to stay that way. Hopefully what you saw tonight made you realize there's something big happening here. Now is our time.”
When they reach the door, Xan is the first to react.
“We almost got killed over what's happening here. I’m sure you can imagine your presence raises a lot of questions. Primarily if you're responsible for the Purebloods attacking us. And why the hell you'd betray them after years of servitude.”
His anger growing with every word, Rex has to intervene, pushing Xan back.
“Hey, is Lori with you? Last I spoke to Vega, he indicated she was back in the fold.”
Quinn eyes him skeptically. “She’s with Crina, they’re making their way here. Why?”
Malik slowly digests this information. “Just curious. With everything that went down at the mansion I'm glad she surfaced in time to help.”
“So are we,” Rex agrees. “But what's going on here could void all that. You realize the Purebloods are going to come for us if we don't stop this?”
Malik simply gives an eerie smile. “It's like I said. We are the future. They are growing more ineffectual by the day. What I'm doing here is bigger than them. It's bigger than any one vampire, Pureblood or not.”
The bookcase slides open and Malik hands them a card with a number on it.
“Let me know where to meet you. And-” pointing at the unconscious girl slung limp over Dade's shoulder, “you really should turn her.”
Chapter 22
“Have you heard from the clan yet?” I ask, pulling a steaming hot mug of blood from the microwave.
“Nothing yet. Not sure what to make of that.”
Crina has spent most of the morning perched at my k
itchen counter scrolling through a news feed on my tablet. I place the mug to her right, she nods at the screen.
“More bodies are turning up. The authorities are trying to stay ahead of it. They are issuing advisories not to walk alone at night, stay in groups, select well-lit streets, that sort of thing.”
“In L.A.?” I ask, peering over her shoulder.
She shakes her head. “This report refers to deaths in Texas, Arizona and Nevada. Alludes to them being linked to a cult.”
“Guess it sounds less panic inducing then vampires roaming the streets…not by much though.”
“See something, say something,” she scoffs as she reads the closing line of the article.
She sets the tablet down, picks up her drink, turns to me.
“What you did last night was smart. They have a long way to go, but I think the training boosted their confidence.”
“That was the goal.”
“We need to get them silver bullets. With Striden on the lose they need to be prepared for more than just vampires.”
Her phone rings, she sets it on the counter and hits the speaker. Xan’s face pops up on the screen, he looks exhausted and frazzled.
“Hey Xan, what’s the latest?”
“Crina, whatever you two are up to has to wait. We have a problem. A big one. We need you here at sundown.” His voice sounds unhinged.
“Slow down Xan, what’s going on?”
“We visited the location that vampire gave Dade. Found a big underground compound. Big. They’ve got a fairly elaborate community forming with zero regard for our laws. Hunting, killing, turning...Get this - they're fighting in cage matches for blood and sanctuary. I’ve never seen an operation of this magnitude before. You have to get out here. We—”
“Who’s they?” she interrupts.
As he pauses, something churns in the pit of my stomach. I set down a glass of blood and join Crina at the counter.
“Malik. He’s here. And he knows we’re here.”
“Malik?” Crina raises her brows. “He’s behind this? Or is he undercover like us?”
“If he’s undercover he’s deep undercover. Cause he’s basically leading the whole damn cause.”