Reign of the Vampires

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

Xenock walked to the third tunnel on the right and beckoned her forward.

  “I’m not going with you, Xenock.”

  “Come on now, don’t be like that, we were getting along so well.” He walked to her.

  “You’re sick. Something went wrong when you drank that human blood, and it didn’t get fixed when you were turned.”

  The smile wavered on his face. “Danika, you don’t mean that. You’re scared, change has never been your strong suit. But we can be happy together. Wait till you see what I made for you.” He reached to touch her face.

  “No.” She slapped his hand away.

  For a fraction of a second, she thought he might listen to her, but then his face changed and quick as lightning he struck her, his ring painfully slicing her skin. She staggered back, blood trickling down her chin. She spat blood on the ground. Fury built inside her. She pounced on him, scratching his face, and causing deep gashes to ooze. The blood hit the dirt floor beneath her feet. He reached for her again, but she moved out of the way; Mason’s blood rose inside, strengthening her.

  Spinning around, she grabbed Chin Lee and threw her the length of the tunnel, slamming her into the opposite wall. The girl crumpled in a heap, blood seeping out of her ear. Xenock grabbed Danika from behind, but she spun out of his grasp and threw him, as well. He sailed across the cavernous tunnel, but landed on his feet and sprung at her. The sudden movement caused her to sway and she tried to get her bearings. She braced herself for his attack, but a sharp blow connected with the back of her head. She crumpled to the floor, her vision darkening.

  “You fool! You could’ve killed her!” Xenock yelled at the bartender.

  “I thought she was going to kill you.”

  “Kill me? Of course not! She is my mate. She would never do anything to hurt me. She’s passionate,” said Xenock.

  He lifted her.

  “Are you hurt, my darling? I’m sorry it has to be this way, Kitten. But once we are mated, everything will be like it was between us before.” Xenock pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  Fat droplets of blood from her head wound hit the dirt, and as she started to lose consciousness, she hoped it was enough for someone to find.

  * * * *

  Mason followed the twists and turns of the tunnels, slowing every now and again to sniff the air. The scent was fading, the dirt walls sucking it in like quicksand. He came to another fork in the road and stopped. He breathed deeply, inhaling the musty air. Her scent hit him like a sheet of cold water, but it wasn’t just her scent. It was her blood. His beast raged within, kicking and fighting to get out. He dove to the left and sprinted toward the scent.

  They came to a hall full of splintering tunnels and Mason stopped. There were a dozen or more, all leading in different directions. She could be in any of them.

  “Mason, over here.”

  Mason jogged up a few yards to where William looked at the ground. A dead human lay on the floor. Blood had pooled underneath her head from her nose and her mouth.

  “She showed us around at the club.”

  “Then we know we’re going the right way.” Mason turned around and looked at the other tunnels. He peered into one, then another, then another; they were all the same. He walked back the way they’d come, staring at the floor for clues.

  When he reached the third tunnel on the right, he saw it. Droplets of blood mixed in the dirt. He stepped forward and studied them. They led into the tunnel. He bent down and touched the blood, bringing it to his nose. Several of the droplets were hers, but others were the scent that he had smelled at Danika’s office. He cursed himself. Xenock had been at Danika’s office that night, and Mason hadn’t been quick enough to catch him. If Mason had been in his true form, he would’ve.

  “Come on.” He stood and motioned to William. They followed the trail of blood droplets for a hundred yards, but then stopped. Mason searched the area for more blood, but there wasn’t any. Good sign. It meant she wasn’t hurt too badly. They continued to follow the tunnel until it ended. There was a door where the hall narrowed. Mason tried the handle, but it was locked from the inside. He stepped back and kicked. It gave way easily beneath his booted foot.

  The door swung into a dusty storage room. Shelves lined the walls, full of old boxes of toilet paper and cleaning supplies that hadn’t been touched in years. There was a door on the opposite end; Mason stalked toward it.

  Noises emanated from behind a metal shelf. A vamp crouched over, chewing on something in the corner. When Mason crossed, the vamp turned, red-eyed, and flung himself at Mason. Mason grabbed the vamp mid-leap by the face and crushed his skull into the cement floor. Blood splattered Mason’s face and shirt. William stifled a scream behind him.

  Mason stood over the dead vamp’s body. He bent down and wiped the blood from his hands onto the vamp’s dirty, stained shirt.

  “How... How did you do that?” William whispered.

  “You ask that a lot.” Mason stood and wiped the blood splatters from his face onto his sleeve. He threw open the door and stepped into the room.

  It was a large warehouse. Every wall was lined with cages, approximately eight feet high and ten feet by ten feet. Inside, humans were crammed together, twenty to a cell. They were dirty, stank, and looked like they needed food. Mason scanned the room in disbelief. William gasped behind him.

  “What the—” William stopped short.

  At his words, the humans turned to where Mason and William stood. Before he knew it, all the humans were on their feet, staring at them both.

  “Please help us,” a woman whispered.

  Quickly the whispers started, “Help us,” “Please,” “Get us out.” “Please help me.” It became overwhelming.

  “What is this?” Mason stared at William.

  William’s eyes brightened, and his fangs gleamed brightly. “The menu.”

  * * * *

  “What have you done?” asked a male.

  “She’s mine, you said so yourself.”

  “I told you that you’d have her.”

  “You lied. I heard you, you were going to give her to Garon. And he was going to kill her.”

  Danika heard voices, but her eyes wouldn’t open.

  “This idiot is your creation? I thought you had things under control. We had a deal,” Garon said in a cold voice.

  “I’ll handle this,” said the first male.

  Danika recognized it; it sent a chill down her spine. No. Not him. It couldn’t be. Again she tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn’t budge.

  “This will end badly. I want no part of it. Our deal is off.”

  She heard the shuffling of feet.

  “Garon, wait.”

  “I am Lord Garon to you. If you make it out of this alive, then I might consider our deal, but not until then.”

  Danika heard a door open, then close. There was silence for a minute.

  “You fool!” Chase said. “I had a deal in place. A deal that would have given me the company so we could fulfill our vision.”

  “You can still have your vision. With Danika here, you can still have the company, and the coven. That’s what you wanted to begin with, isn’t it? That’s why you killed her parents, to fulfill your vision. We can do it without him.”

  “No, we can’t. I needed him to run the coven. To keep them in line while I changed the world. The coven doesn’t respect me the way they do her. Now they’ll come looking for her. They’ll suspect me. We have to return her before she awakens. She has a head wound, and she’s been drugged, anything she says she saw can be played off as a dream.”

  “No. You said she was meant to be my mate. And I can’t go back. They think I’m dead.”

  “I know, Xenock, I know.” Chase lowered his voice. “But we have to take her. Before she awakens.”

  “She’s mine,” Xenock roared.

  Danika managed to get her eyes to open in time to see Xenock fly at Chase. Chase side- stepped him
, but Xenock flew at him again. She couldn’t quite focus on what was going on. Xenock and Chase’s fight spilled out onto the level below.

  She sat up shakily. She was in a bedroom of sorts, but the walls were cinder block painted a moldy green color. Florescent lights hung low overhead, an office of some kind. Danika swung her legs to the edge of the bed and pulled herself up by one of the four posts. Her head began to clear from the haze of having a gun butt smack her skull.

  As the fog lifted, panic arose. The room was an old office of a warehouse. It had been converted into a small living quarters. There was a bathroom attached to it, a sitting area, and the bed.

  She moved to the door and looked out at the factory floor below. Hundreds of dirty vamps milled about, watching Chase and Xenock fight. Where had they come from?

  Two doors waited below. One about twenty yards from her, and the other all the way on the other side of the building. She opted for the closer one, hopping over the railing and landing on the cement floor below. She wobbled only slightly. The drug was wearing off. Chase struck Xenock with a hard blow to the face. Xenock spun and landed on the floor. He looked up, his eyes widening in surprise.

  She took off in a sprint toward the exit. It was locked. Xenock and Chase yelled behind her. She took a step away and kicked with all her strength. The door splintered at the jamb and swung inward. She slammed the door behind her and pressed her weight on it. Someone slammed into it from the other side. She searched frantically, trying to find something to keep it shut.

  Chase yelled while beating on the door, “Nika, open the door, dear. This isn’t what you think. I found you and was trying to get you out of this place. Let me help you.”

  “Not freaking likely!”

  It was the wrong response. Both of them beat on the metal. She pressed herself into it hard, but with each of their shoves, it gave a little. Mason’s blood in her system was the only reason they hadn’t broken in yet. A hand shot around the door and grabbed at her. She shoved with her shoulder and heard Chase’s arm snap.

  He cursed loudly and the arm disappeared. Xenock pounded and kicked at the door. The snarls and growls of the rogues on the other side told her they were helping him fight to get the door open. It was a matter of minutes before they broke in.

  A noise came from the other side of the room. A heavy wooden bookcase full of papers and books tipped forward then settled back. Her heart sank; someone was breaking through. A cry escaped her lips. She was trapped.

  She watched helplessly as the bookcase rocked. With one great shove, the bookcase toppled forward and hit the ground with a crash. Dust flew into the air, surrounding her and causing her to cover her mouth and nose. A coughing fit ensued and her eyes watered as she blinked rapidly trying to clear them. A huge male stood in a small doorway behind the now-downed bookcase, surrounded by several other figures.

  She let out a scream and the figure from the doorway rushed toward her. She felt his panic as he swept her into his protective arms. The heat of his body radiated through her. Mason. She clung to him. He held her tight, kissing her hair. Behind him, half a dozen men rushed in. It was William, Neeman, and several of the Tracking Squad.

  “Get her out of here.” Neeman’s gaze was icy. Xenock and a group of rogues pushed the door open. In the forefront was the bartender from Trade House, with an automatic weapon.

  “No, I don’t think so,” said Xenock. “You see, she belongs to me.”

  * * * *

  “Put her down, human,” Xenock spat.

  Mason’s temperature rose, his beast clawing its way up. The skin on his back stretched, ripping his shirt.

  “I won’t ask again,” Xenock said. “Put her down, or die.”

  Mason set Danika on her feet and pushed her behind himself. His fingers cracked and popped, elongating.

  “Everyone back in here,” Xenock commanded.

  Mason stalked forward, forcing the rogues onto the warehouse floor. Xenock and the vampyr with the gun backed out as well. Rogues milled about everywhere. Some sat in the corners, huddled together. Most were like rabid animals, grouping together in packs, pushing and snarling to get a closer look at the visitors.

  “Danika, darling, why don’t you come stand by me? It is much safer here, I assure you.” Xenock smiled.

  “Over my dead body!” Neeman yelled.

  Xenock turned his gaze on Neeman. “Why, Neeman, how are you? Long time no see. Still suffering from the same delusions that you had the last time I saw you? Still think you can win her back? Sorry, friend, but she and I had long conversations about you, and I can tell you that—”

  “Xenock.” Danika stepped from behind Mason. “That’s enough.”

  Mason reached for her. He would die before he let her go again. The moment his hand touched her skin, a rogue sprang forward like a trained attack dog. Mason grabbed the rogue by the throat and broke his neck. The diversion was all it took. Quick as lightning, Xenock grabbed Danika, pulling her to him. Mason howled with rage. His muscles shifted as the beast within him clawed his way loose.

  “Let her go,” Mason said, his voice quiet. “I promise you if you don’t, you won’t like what happens.”

  Xenock laughed bitterly. “Me, human? I think it’s more likely that you won’t like what’s about to happen. My coven members haven’t fed in a while, and I promised them a meal tonight. They don’t have a very discerning palette, so any human or Vampire will do.”

  “Xenock, think about what you are doing.” Neeman moved to stand beside Mason and pressed a large knife into his hand.

  “Oh, I have been thinking. Waiting, planning, all for the moment when I’d claim her as mine. The moment I awoke from Chase’s bite, it was all I thought of. And now she is here, and she’s mine.” Xenock planted a soft kiss on Danika’s cheek.

  “She’s not yours. She’s destined to be so much more than the mate of a crazed vampyr,” Mason spat.

  “Oh, she isn’t, is she? Well, I’ll change that this second.” With a flash of fang, Xenock bit down into Danika’s neck.

  She let out a cry and before he moved, the hungry vamps surrounded Mason. The gunman fired, and Ian hit the ground, blood pouring from a hole ripped through his shoulder. Neeman ran to Ian, pulling him into the small storage room.

  Three vamps were on William in an instant. Mason swung the heavy hunting knife and cut the head off one. William broke the neck of the second. The third Mason threw into a charging group of vamps, knocking them down like bowling pins.

  He scanned the room for Danika. She struggled against Xenock while he pulled her across the warehouse by her hair. She kicked hard and Xenock let go of her momentarily. She got a step away before he tackled her. The two wrestled on the ground, with Xenock trying to get Danika to drink from him. Another pack rushed Mason; Neeman was back at Mason’s side. As the group took down the first volley of rogues, more replaced them. There were too many, and the Tracking Squad was overwhelmed.

  “Get Danika, and get her out of here,” Neeman yelled, crushing the skull of a female vamp. “I’ll take care of Xenock.”

  Mason scanned the fray. Ian had returned, and he and William fought side-by-side. William was limping and he had a bite mark on his shoulder. There was no way they were going to make it out of this with Danika. Not unless Mason did the thing he hadn’t done in more than five hundred years. He took a deep breath. She was worth it, whatever the cost.

  “No,” Mason said. “You get Danika. I’ll take care of Xenock.” Neeman locked eyes with Mason and nodded. Mason stripped his shirt off and bared his chest. Neeman called to the other trackers.

  “Keep them away from Mason for one minute,” Neeman yelled.

  “Only one,” Mason yelled in reply. “Then get out of my way.”

  He moved toward the door they’d come through. His blood had risen to lava heat level in anticipation of what was coming. He let the rage flow through him, keeping his eyes on Danika as she struggled against Xenock�
��s hold. Xenock’s blood dripped onto her face.

  Mason stared down at the runes on his chest. They glowed white hot against his skin.

  “I call upon Bael, Lord of the Underworld. I call on Diablo, the Lord of Death. I call on Samael, the Lord of Pain. And I call upon Mephisto, the Lord of Destruction. I am Maelstrom, son of Mephisto, and heir to all. I assume my true form, and call upon the power that is within me to bring forth my father’s work upon this lesser plane.”

  The fire took over. The beast laughed with delight. Then the pain hit. The runes burned in his chest, making him let out a blood-curdling roar. He was oblivious of everything else as his skin ripped and tore from his back. His inky black wings flexed and lifted from the human skin to which they had fused, spreading ten feet in either direction. His mind went blank.

  * * * *

  Danika was losing strength. It was all she could do to keep Xenock’s blood out of her mouth. He chanted as he pinned her to the floor. Ancient words that he thought would bind her to him and make her his. She brought up her knee straight into his groin, making him grimace and stop. Taking the advantage, she pushed him off her, flipped to her feet, and scanned for Mason. Neeman and the others stood in a semi-circle, hungry vamps pummeling them. Then she heard a terrible laugh and a roar that shook the ground.

  Everything stopped moving, and she saw him. Mason stood in the middle of the semi-circle. His runes blazed like sunlight, he narrowed his gaze upon her. Black wings, exactly like his tattoos, burst from behind him, growing and pulsing with life. They unfurled and stretched to their immense width.

  His bone structure shifted. His pants ripped as he grew larger and larger. His skin deepened to a charcoal gray, and his eyes burned with orange flames. His incisors lengthened down to his chin as his hands grew three times their size, tipped with claws longer than her hands. Just when she thought he was done, the skin parted on each temple and black, sleek horns curled down his cheeks and up over his jawbone.

  No one moved. Mason let out another terrible roar and then his hands caught fire. It was impossible. He couldn’t be... There hadn’t been any for hundreds of years. But there he was, and there was no denying it. Mason was a demon.