There were several moments of silence as Morgan’s words sank into the minds of the six members of Wilson’s war party.
“I’ve never been afraid of a human in all of my existence,” Silas said defiantly. “And when I move, there is no human alive who will be able to see me, let alone defeat me.”
“Whatever,” Morgan continued. “Almost finished, just hang with me a few more minutes. Do you remember one night several years ago, you and I went out carousing in L.A., had a great night together, and ended up at some little club somewhere, just talking and enjoying the other’s company?”
Silas didn’t answer, but his expression told Morgan that, yes, of course he remembered the night.
“We were telling old war stories, laughing, and bragging, and embarrassing ourselves. One story you told was the best, the one about the only time you ever ran from a fight. Do you remember that one, Silas?”
“Yes, of course, Morgan. Get to the point; you’re starting to sound like a doddering old fool.”
The insult brought a laugh from Morgan as he looked down into the face of his former security chief.
“Of course, my friend, I apologize. Anyway, you told me back in the 1700’s, you came up against one of the most legendary vampire warriors in our illustrious history, and we’ve had a long list of legends, haven’t we? If we go way back, there was the Scourge of God, the great warrior Attila. And then Hannibal. My personal favorite was Leoidas of Sparta, the bravest vampire that ever lived. Oh, let us not forget the wonderful Joan of Arc, the Frenchwoman who they burned. Then there was the one you came up against, Silas, the one known by both humans and vampire as The Fist of God, the pirate Nicola of Arnhem. You told me, if I remember correctly, that you were in the West Indies, in port, with a crew of two dozen or so…does that sound about right?”
Silas nodded, not sure why this story was being retold.
“Your men started a fight in a bar with a small group of sailors, intent on raping and robbing the band of strangers. I think you told me there were four men, and a woman. That’s twenty four, twenty five against five, odds most assuredly in your favor, Silas…or one would think. The way you told it…and believe me, you told the story much better than I do, the fight moved outside, your men drew their weapons, and the woman destroyed your entire company, went through your men as if they were standing still. You said you’ve never seen a greater or more skilled fighter…and you ran…the only option you had in order to hang on to your head. So really, you didn’t go against her, did you, Silas? Because you would have been nothing more than a child’s game to her, she was that good. Am I right, Silas, is that how it went down? You abandoned your men, ran away like a crying child?”
“What the hell does any of that have to do with what’s going on here, Morgan?” Silas demanded belligerently. “So I saved my life. That woman was one of our race’s greatest warriors. I’ve never regretted my decision to run, never felt like a coward. You have to pick your battles, and that’s one I passed on. I’ve lived another 300 years, while I’m sure that bitch tasted somebody’s steel centuries ago. Let’s get to this, I’m running out of patience.”
“This is the battle you’ve picked, is that correct, Silas…because you only pick battles when the odds are stacked heavily in your favor? You think your skill, and the support of these five…I’m not sure how to refer to them, these little boys, will carry you to victory over Amp and her crew.”
“That’s correct, Morgan; to protect my sire, to protect my home, and my brothers. When this starts, you stay out of this, Morgan; this is not your business. If Lord Alexander wants to die with this trash, that’s his choice. I’m ready to fight.”
Rio caressed the trigger of the M-4, the rifle still pointed down to the ground. He knew to a millisecond how long it would take him to fire, and he was confident he could get the shot off before the vampire took his first step.
“Excellent, there’s nothing like a good fight to get the blood circulating. The evening is winding down; it’s time to end this nonsense. You’re right, Silas, it’s time for you to fight, to show everyone here what a brilliant and brave warrior you are. One of the great ones, is that correct? You want me to return to California and proclaim your bravery against this force. Isn’t that what you said?”
Silas stared at him, his eyes filled with hatred.
“Oh, wait…you already know Lord Alexander and Amp, and I’ve introduced you to Anrio, the sniper. I almost forgot the fourth warrior you’re fighting, another little girl, very much like our dear Amp.”
All eyes moved to Nikka, standing perfectly still, her look one of calculated seriousness, her eyes drilling into the face of Silas Turkman. Nikka’s fangs were lowered all the way, the figure of death waiting to collect her due.
“Silas, this is Amp’s friend, Nikka Olson. Or you might know her better as Nicola of Arnhem…known by many as the Fist of God. So okay then, let’s get this fight started, it’s getting late. Your move, Silas. Good luck to you.”
There was a collective gasp, Morgan not sure who made the most noise, only that his last, tiny piece of information had been the zinger. Slowly, not to appear threatening in any way, the five warriors standing with Silas carefully laid their weapons on the ground, and then just as slowly, stepped away from them, kneeling in submission.
Silas wanted to admonish them for their cowardice, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the skinny girl next to Amp. It was her; he would never forget that face, the innocence of a virgin, a killing legend among his kind. Without thinking, he too dropped his sword, knowing the end had arrived, too exhausted to go further.
Without a sound, six warriors, armed with swords and dressed in black, dropped from the roof of Wilson’s house, surrounding Silas and his kneeling brothers. Morgan’s men collected the surrendered weapons without a word, and stood back, waiting for Morgan’s instructions.
“It appears the ball is in your court, Anne Marie. You have won your battle; it’s up to you what happens next. The only thing I want from this night is Silas. He will be leaving with me; although there is zero chance he will be returning to California. I promised my warriors they could have him. They, I’m sure, have a surprise for this instructor who dishonored them. Hasn’t this been a great night? I haven’t had so much fun in ages. Anne Marie, I salute you and your warriors. You did what you vowed to do, and you did it with integrity and honor.”
With a dramatic bow, he hopped over the balcony and dropped down to stand alongside Silas.
“Thank you, Lord Morgan…and Lord Alexander,” Amp said, bowing to each in turn.
“You’ve both saved further bloodshed, and that is not insignificant. We lost a great friend in this fight, the Vampire Robert, but he died doing what he was born to do, and that helps ease the pain and loss I feel. His memory will always be with us.”
She walked to where Beryl Wilson lay on the ground, the man shaking and crying with the defeat of his empire, and his impending death.
“Beryl Wilson, you murdered my sire, as well as my best friend. The Vampires Danner and Riley call to me from their grave for retribution. Your continued existence on this earth has haunted me for two years. It is time for you to pay your debt to my friends.”
The vampire tried to sit up, his bound limbs hindering his efforts. He looked like a pitiful old drunk lying in a gutter, and nothing he could do was improving his appearance. Finally, he righted himself, looking around at those who were condemning him.
“No, no, you can’t kill me, I’m a vampire lord…do something!” he screamed at his unarmed warriors. “You have taken a vow to fight to your death to defend me. I command you to fight!”
Getting no reaction from them, he faced Amp. “I’m a powerful person; I’ll pay you…millions, everything…”
“You, Beryl Wilson, are no more a vampire lord than the most feral animal in the forest. You deserve no respect, and you are accorded no respect from me or mine. You are the embodiment of evil, an outcast from your race,
and it is long past due that you pay for your sins.”
Before he could dodge her grip, she pulled him by his hair to a sitting position, swung her sword in a long arc, and his body slumped to the ground, Amp holding his severed head in her hand, the look on Wilson’s face that of astonishment. A wail arose from each of his six children who witnessed the execution.
Crossing to Silas, she held Wilson’s head up to his face until he was looking eye to eye with his dead sire. The blood dripped from the neck and formed a puddle at his feet, covering the toes of his cowboy boots.
“Traitor, you betrayed your Lord for this. You betrayed our friendship for this. You betrayed everything you’ve come to stand for…for this scum. Soon you can join him in hell.” She dropped the head at his feet, no longer interested.
“Amp, please…save me, he was begging as she walked away. “I was always your friend…I love you, Amp. Please, Morgan is going to make me suffer. Help me, for old time’s…he’ll listen to you!”
His words were coming faster and faster as Amp moved away, ignoring his plea.
Turning and raising her sword to the sky, she announced in a loud, clear voice.
“I am the Vampire Anne Marie. According to laws and tradition of our race, I seize this compound, and all the property and holdings, as payment for transgressions against my family. From here on, no person with Wilson blood flowing through their veins shall ever step foot on these grounds…upon penalty of death.”
“Well done,” Lord Alexander said softly.
She moved to stand directly in front of the five warriors still kneeling in capitulation. “As for you five…you have two choices. You can join your sire in hell right now…or you can flee Alaska forever. You are never permitted in Alaska or California the rest of your existence. If I hear that you have returned, I will hunt you down and take your head.”
The five hesitated, then as one they turned and ran out the front gate, disappearing down the road at their greatest speed, out of sight in a blink of an eye.
“Good show, Amp,” Morgan said. Nodding at Silas, he said “I’ve got what I came for, so if there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.”
“Wait, Morgan…how did you know what was going on…and how long have you been here?”
“Your farewell call to Amy set off many red flags that concerned us. Then Silas asked for some time off. We don’t believe in coincidences, so Amy got on her computer, and found that Silas had a ticket to Alaska. I had been having misgivings about him for some time. Then, several weeks ago, I received a phone call from Lord Rinaldo in San Francisco urging me to check out Silas’s background. I take all requests from Lord Rinaldo seriously. We checked, and nothing added up. We immediately flew up on my plane, and got settled in. Your scout Anrio and my guys just missed each other several times last night.”
Looking across at the human, Morgan grinned. “Got to admit; the deer urine was a great idea. Killed every odor for yards. Good show.”
“Thank you,” Rio answered. “And thank you for being here.”
“Believe me, Sergeant; you would have won this war with or without me. You’ve hooked up with a couple of real live heroes.”
Turning to Nikka, Morgan bowed in respect. “Lady Nicola…it is an honor to finally make your acquaintance. I’ve long admired the tales of your exploits. You are truly a legend. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you and Amp have joined forces. You will be invincible.”
“Thank you, Lord Morgan…for everything,” Nikka said. “You are most kind...and awfully well informed.”
Morgan laughed; his face lighting up from the compliment coming from a legend.
“You are most welcome, My Lady. Amp, I’ll have Amy check on you soon. Call me if there is anything I can do for you. Good luck, Petersburg coven. You earned this, and I’m very excited for your future.” He hugged Amp to him, the embrace of an old, dear friend.
“Thank you, Lord Alexander,” Nikka said, turning to the gentleman from the boat. “It was very comforting with you standing alongside us, prepared to enter battle. I hope when you return to the area, you will bring your beautiful Becca and stay with us. Our home is always your home.”
“This, my dear Lady Nicola, was the most fun I’ve had in decades. If I had missed it, I would have kicked myself in the butt forever. It is you and your friends who deserve my thanks. I have admired you from afar; to meet you is the greatest honor of my life.”
Suddenly, they were gone, leaving Amp, Nikka, Rio and Miriam standing in the front yard, staring at the mansion.
“Hey guys, I got Wilson blood in my veins.” Miriam was standing off to the side, a worried expression on her face. Amp looked at her and smiled.
“We’ll think of some way to remedy that,” Amp said.
Looking over at Nikka, she was sad to see red tears rolling down her friend’s cheeks. Going to her, she took the warrior in her arms and held her, knowing Nikka was crying for Robert.
“Remember when he said we were going to win this thing because he just became vampire, and he wasn’t going to give it up easy, because he liked it so much. Shit, Amp, he was going to be a great warrior. He was so brave. I’ve never cried over a death in my life...I’m going to miss that big guy so much.”
“I’m gonna miss him too, Nikka. We couldn’t have accomplished this without him, that’s a fact,” Amp said softly. “We’ll think of a fitting manner to show tribute to him.”
“He died the only way he would have wanted to,” Rio said, his arm going around the two girls.
“Morgan was great,” Amp continued, trying to break the somber mood. “I never saw that side of him before. Damn, he could have a late night talk show, people would love him. What about Rinaldo? Did you mention Silas was my mentor?”
“Yeah, I did. He didn’t give any indication that he was a fraud, just called Morgan and put the word out. He handled it properly, and Morgan did the rest.”
“Come on, let’s go check out our new digs, see if we need to hire an interior decorator. Miriam will give us a guided tour.”
As they began walking toward the house, Nikka asked Amp quietly about the human. “What’s her status, what are we going to do with her?”
“Actually, I think we need to hire her. Rio trusts her, and I think I do too. She tried to kick the shit out of Wilson, which speaks volumes. We were going to see if Morgan would send help with the businesses, but if we can get Miriam to continue in the same capacity, we don’t need outside help. Right?”
“Good for you…growth,” Nikka laughed. “You planned on staking her head when we came up here, now she’s going to be our business ace. Awesome.”
“Speaking of awesome…you need to tell me about Nicola of Arnhem sometime. They treated you like a rock star.”
“A different life, a different time,” Nikka answered, suddenly feeling the drop in adrenaline. “Of course, we’ll talk sometime. Just don’t lose focus that I’m Nikka Olson, your best friend…Nicola no longer exist. Everything else you heard stays right here…deal?”
“Deal,” Amp answered. “Let’s go offer Miriam a job.”
Rio and Miriam were at the front entrance of the mansion, waiting for the girls. When all four of them were inside, Amp led them to the formal living room, each of them taking a seat and waiting for her to speak.
“Now that it’s over, I’m not sure what I’m doing,” she started. “I never let myself think this far ahead. I know it came up a couple of times, but I never thought about it seriously. We won…and we lost, because we lost Robert. That’s part of war, but it’s a part I don’t like. I’m thankful to all three of you for sticking with me. I thank you, Rio and Nikka, for being my best friends.”
“What do we do now, Amp?” Rio asked. The future had always been his major concern, never wanting to go through the loneliness and depression that he had lived after leaving the Army.
“If you want, you stay here with Nikka and me. I’m hoping it’s what you want. If not, you’ll always have a home h
ere.”
“I want to stay,” Rio said. “This is where I belong, with you guys.”
“Good. Then as of now, Rio is the head of security for this compound. You’ll need to get an inventory of everything on the grounds, let me know if we need anything…you know the drill. I’ll leave you alone, and you take care of that facet. Okay?”
Rio couldn’t get the smile off his face. “Absolutely; and thanks, Amp.”
“No. Thank you, Rio. This would have been a cluster fuck without you. Miriam, what do we do with you?”
Miriam had a look of doubt on her face, not sure where her place in the world was anymore? She had not had to think about that in almost a hundred years. Now suddenly she was homeless, unemployed, and without a friend in the world.
“I guess if you were going to kill me, you would have done it already,” she said, trying to smile, but not succeeding, knowing she was speaking the truth, knowing how close to dying she had come. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll get some of my stuff from upstairs, if that’s okay, and then I’ll hitch a ride into town.”
“If that’s what you want, that’s fine. Listen to my offer first, and then make up your mind. I’ve claimed everything that Wilson owned…everything. This is my right, validated by Lord Morgan and Lord Alexander. What that means is all of his holdings, companies, funds, and whatever else out there belongs to me. I’m offering you the position, in whatever controlling company we set up, as president and chief operating officer, responsible for the entire business. I suppose that’s a lot of what you’ve been doing, without any title. This will be completely legitimate, with a generous compensation package, that we will discuss at a later time. If you would like, you may remain living here as before. If not, you’re more than welcome to move to town. Personally, I hope you stay. Rio believes in you…and so do Nikka and I.”
Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) Page 22