by J. Morgan
"I imagine so."
"But you know what the worst part was?"
"No,” he said meekly. “Not eating?"
"No. I needed to lose a couple of pounds anyway. It was that I've been locked up for so long without a man. They may be annoying as hell, but dammit when you want one, you damn well want one. My juices are so bottled up I could drown a whole village, if you know what I mean.” She gave him a spectral nudge to the ribs. “Hell, I might even qualify for virginity again."
"Well, I'm sure that is, what I mean is ... N-no, I don't know what you mean,” Breathred stammered. D'brea waited for it, knowing he couldn't hold it in. “So, you can become a virgin again? I didn't know women could do that."
"Boy, you kill me.” D'brea guffawed and slapped him across the back, which didn't work all too well because her ghostlike hand slipped right through him.
"You really need to meet my chimp,” Breathred mumbled under his breath.
"Ohhh.” D'brea walked over to him and said with a perverted leer. “That's the kind of talk that's going to get you walking bowlegged."
"Ewwww!” Breathred whined his face scrunched up in horror and disgust.
D'brea leaned in and licked his quivering ear. She purposely let her ectoplasmic touch send a jolt of pleasure through his naughty bits. Biting her lip as he tried to fight off the sensation, she increased the sensation until the tingling felt so good the boy nearly forgot what he was trying to do. Reaching into his mind, she felt it took his entire concentration to push the naughty sensation from his mind.
"Sugar, don't knock the ride until you buy the ticket, strap in and ride the rapids,” D'brea whispered in his ear.
"Madam, would you kindly refrain from doing that?” Breathred hissed, swatting his ear, as he backed away from her. “I'll have you know I'm saving myself for marriage."
He stopped her cold. With a look of confusion D'brea looked him over from head to toe. Taking a ghostly sniff, she decided he was indeed telling the truth. Which begged the question. “How old are you?"
"Thirty-six."
"Honey, you ain't saving yourself. You're letting that shit wither on the vine.” She didn't bother to hide the amusement from her voice.
"Be that as it may, I would like to keep this relationship platonic, if you please."
"If that's the way you want it. You're not my type anyway."
"So, if you don't want the vampires to help you, what do you want me to do? I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of being your love-slave and I know Luna—that's my girlfriend—will have a few things to say on the subject, if that's your intention."
"Your tough luck, Hon. You don't know what you're missing.” D'brea was clearly not in the mood to forgive him for rebutting her advances. “If you're not up for a bit of the in and out, I want you to get me out of here, and if you don't, your two friends over there are going to be my first meal in eons."
* * * *
After calming down, Luna let Leopold's statement sink in. The initial shock had worn off and denial was setting in. She didn't want to believe Jessica could be a traitor. Sure, she might have had her differences with Easily, but after the other night Luna had marked the woman off her list of suspects. She should have known better. Never trust a woman who tries to steal your man. That's Girlfriend 101 and she had forgotten it. Damn bitch probably double-dipped her chips to boot. She looked the type to do just about anything, including selling them out to an undead freak like Leopold.
"Don't look so surprised, Luna,” Jessica said.
"Why?” was the only thing Luna could find to say.
"How can you ask? You stole my man. This was supposed to be my chance to get him back after all these years, but no—you had to drag your little butt into it. When I saw the two of you together at Grayson's party, I knew I had to do something. I couldn't just let you get away with horning in on my party. Do you know how long I waited for him?"
"I can imagine,” Luna said, trying not to smirk. Breathred was nothing if not a bit sluggish when it came to women.
"Breathred would have been mine all those years ago, if it hadn't been for the accident. Then, he just disappeared. I spent years trying to find him, but he just vanished. Then finally, I when I thought I could live my life again, Doctor Grayson called and asked me to join this expedition. I was fine with throwing myself into a little work, but then she said he would be part of this dig. After all these years I found him again, but you...” Jessica said, all but foaming at the mouth. “Came along and ruined it. Well, I decided then and there you weren't going to get away with it."
"Girly, you need a serious dose of Prozac,” Stud snorted.
"No, what I need is for you to shut up, you vile little shit,” Jessica screamed into his face.
"Now, Doctor Easily there is no need for vulgarities,” Leopold interjected.
"You just stay out of this. This is between me and the girl."
Leopold raised his hands and backed up. “By all means. Who am I to stand in the way of a woman scorned?"
"So, what did he promise you? Were you to become a vampire? Is that it? That he'd let you have Breathred for all eternity to yourself? Well, let me tell you something, Breathred would rather die than become one of those things.” Luna wiggled her finger at Leopold and Lewis.
"Oh no, nothing so pedestrian. Seeing the two of you together, it was clear Breathred was no longer fit to be with me. He had to pay for his stupidity. Breathred could have had me, but chose you,” Easily said with an up-turned nose. “When Leopold told me about the sacrifice he needed to wake the Mother, I was only too happy to help him."
"What sacrifice?” Stud butted in.
"Breathred, you silly primate! They're going to sacrifice Breathred in some ceremony to wake the Mother. They need a virgin and there you go. Who else fits the bill? I even offered to do the deed,” Jessica said, a faint giggle hiding beneath her words.
"You're insane,” Luna said.
"Think what you like, but it doesn't change the fact your boyfriend's about to become vampire chow.” Jessica unleashed a barrage of laughter that made Luna's blood run cold.
"Lewis, I think it's time for Doctor Easily to take a little break,” Leopold whispered to the other vampire.
"I heard you,” Easily shouted. “I was promised immortality you twit. I want it, now."
"I think you need to calm down, Doctor. We had a deal and you will get it in all good time, but for now we need to get into the tomb. In your present state of mind I don't think you can aid us with much of anything,” Leopold said in a calming tone.
"The hell I can't. You're just trying to get me out of the way. Well, think again. I know how to open the door. Unless you can open it yourself, you had better just think about giving me what I want."
"How do propose to do that? It was my understanding Mr. Petrifunck was the only one able to open it,” Leopold stated, motioning for Lewis to slip around the woman.
"No, you give me your word and then I'll tell you."
He held his hand up for Lewis to stop. “Okay, you have my word."
"That's better. You don't need Breathred. You need his blood. When he first opened the door, I made sure I kept the gauze he used to dress the wound. Keeping it in a moist environment, I was able to keep the blood fresh in case the tomb closed, which it did."
"Very astute, doctor. I congratulate you.” Leopold stood, clapping his hands. “And I'll make good on our deal, once the Mother is in my hands."
"But, you said...” Easily started to say.
"I said I would honor our agreement and I shall, but not without the Mother safely in my hands. If my word isn't good enough for you, I will nullify our deal now.” Leopold's features shifted slightly, revealing a totally inhuman countenance that brought her protests to an abrupt end.
Luna had watched the exchange with growing horror. She knew her and Stud's time was reaching an end. Once Leopold no longer had a use for them, they were as good as dead. Th
e only hope they had was the vampires would wait to kill them until after they opened the tomb. At least then she might have time to come up with a plan.
"Lewis, change of plans. Tie up Ms. Walking Batch and the chimp. I'll escort Doctor Easily to the tomb. Join us as soon as you're done,” Leopold ordered.
Lewis licked his lips. “Sure you don't want me to just kill ‘em now?"
"No, we might need them to keep Mr. Petrifunck in line."
Luna let out a silent sigh of relief. Things were finally looking up. Now, all she had to was hope for either a plan or a miracle. At this point she was willing to take whichever one she could get.
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Forty Six
If you can't hold a stake without shaking, how do you plan to kill a vampire?
Brogan watched the sky with growing concern. Clouds were gathering on the horizon, big fluffy ones that could only mean trouble. He knew snow clouds when he saw them and these weren't them, but somehow he doubted they were anything but. The clouds looked heavy and dark, more like storm heads than snow. Brogan'd been in Kansas once during a tornado. That was what those clouds made him think of. The whole damn mess was turning to crap. Opening the tomb was coming back to bite him in the ass, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to leave him much of one before this night was done.
Having enough of daydreaming, Borgan let his body slide down an embankment. The snow easily gave way beneath his short, heavy legs. The earlier snow had obliterated his tracks. Luckily, he had kept track of landmarks on the first trip. If the approaching storm hit before he made it back to the dig site, landmarks weren't going to be worth diddlysquat. By his reckoning, he was almost there. A mile or so, and the camp should be within sight.
But, he was going to scope things out before rushing into the belly of the beast. His gut told him things were about to get rough. The last thing he needed to do was stumble into any surprises.
Brogan stopped suddenly. His hand reached up to catch a broken branch. It wasn't the first. The trail had been littered with them. Now, he regretted his laziness. The dangling bit of tree sat high enough Brogan doubted an animal had been the ‘cause of the damage. His fingers caressed the broken branch. Letting the branch snap back to its place, Brogan brought his fingers up to his nose. They smelled faintly metallic.
His curiosity piqued, Brogan let his eyes roamed the nearby landscape a little more closely. Above eye level, more branches hung at odd angles. As he mulled over the evidence, his gaze fell to the ground itself. Barely noticeable after the snowfall, Brogan made out faded but discernable tire tracks. Who would be crazy enough to drive a truck through a forest at night?
A short detour was worth the delay back to camp. Somehow, Brogan thought this mystery might be tied into whatever was happening back in the camp. He set off at a slow but steady pace. Once or twice, he lost track of the trail, because of snow falling from the heavy-laden trees, but was able to pick up the trail with little effort. From the damage, whoever was driving the truck hadn't been too worried about being followed.
Fifteen minutes later, Brogan caught sight of the truck half-buried against a tree some hundred yards from the main trail. From the looks of it, the driver had lost control and slammed it into the tree. It was a big four-wheel drive U-haul. What had Roberts had told him?
One of the team had seen a U-haul back at the Eh Ya Campgrounds. He'd dismissed it back then. Suddenly, it made sense. There was only one reason to bring a truck like this into these woods. Somebody wanted to get something big from the site. It had to be whatever was buried in the tomb. Suddenly Breathred's talk of this vampire mother suddenly seemed all too real.
If the kid was right, then that meant a truckload of vampires was probably waiting back at camp. Normally, this might worry him, but the way Brogan saw it, he had the advantage. This was his home turf, not theirs. The last time he checked he was the baddest mutha this side of the border. A vamp might make the Americans shiver their short and curlies straight, but he was Canadian. Canadians were the toughest S.O.B.s in the world. At least this one was.
* * * *
Lewis grinned as he tightened the makeshift rope around Stud's arms and chest. The chimp let out a pained gasp. Lewis cinched the knotted up sheets a little tighter before tying them off behind Stud's back. After thinking about gagging the foul-mouthed beast, one flash of its abnormally large incisors gave him second thoughts. It wasn't like the beast could reach down and gnaw through the ropes.
The girl had been easy. Lewis made the monkey do it. Glancing over to make sure she was still strapped in place, the vampire wasn't all too sure the chimp had tied her up, but wanted to wait until the chimp was secure before checking her bonds. All left to do was tie down the little sucker's legs then he could see for himself.
Luna watched the vampire bend down to tie Stud's legs. Stud shot her a questioning look over the vamp's shoulder. Luna wished she knew what to tell him, but she didn't. That was a lie. Luna knew what she had to do, just didn't want to do it, especially in front of this Lewis person. Luna wasn't ashamed of her true self but didn't want to advertise it to the whole world yet. If she wolfed out and the vampire got away...
Luna didn't even want to think about the consequences. Hearing the news from a vampire wasn't the way she wanted Breathred to discover her secret. He deserved to hear it from her, not some freak.
Luna turned her head away from Stud's accusing stare. When the vampire was gone, she'd tell him her plan. With Lewis out of the way, she could change and get them free without Breathred finding out. It was the coward's way, but it worked for her. Luna just hoped it wouldn't be too late. She glanced up to see Lewis finish with Stud's bonds.
He was coming over to make sure Stud had tied her up right. Luna was glad she told the chimp to do it the way Lewis wanted. Otherwise, the vamp would have had to do it again. Every minute they had to stay here was a minute wasted. Luna was sure Leopold and that slut, Easily, weren't wasting any time.
"Okay folks. That's it. We'll be back with your boyfriend in a minute, so don't even think about trying any funny stuff,” Lewis warned, as he gave Luna's bonds a final tug.
"Or what, you'll kill him? You're already going to do that, so don't try to scare us with lies,” Stud snarled, straining at his ropes.
"No? How do you think he'll feel, watching me suck his girlfriend dry as a bone?” Lewis took a quick swipe across Luna's neck o drive his point across.
"When I get out of this, I'm going to drive a stake straight through your sorry butt,” Stud promised the gloating vampire.
"Feel free to try, but I don't think you'll get the chance.” Lewis said, slipping from the tent.
"Why didn't you wolf out and kill that piece of crap?” Stud asked.
"Because, he might have gotten away."
"He might have shit himself is more like it. Whatever you're going to do, do it. I don't like the idea of Breathred trapped with those two bloodsuckers breathing down his neck."
Luna knew Stud was concerned about Breathred and forgave his abruptness.
"Give me a few minutes and then we'll go after him."
Luna tuned out Stud's reply, so she could focus her thoughts. Her mind swam to her secret place. This wouldn't be like the other night. The change then had been pure reflex in answer to Sharbano's attack. She still couldn't explain why it happened like that. As hard as she concentrated, the tug of power that marked the start of the change wouldn't come.
She was trying too hard. Luna let her mind flow free, letting her spirit flow toward the living well of Coyote's will. Something was blocking her from reaching it. Luna grunted in frustration. This wasn't going to work. They were trapped like rats and there wasn't one damn thing she could do about it.
* * * *
"That's harsh, don't you think?” Breathred said.
It had taken several minutes for him to even say that. Her words had struck him as a last resort on her part. Seduction hadn't worked. So, this was it. Breathred had t
o admit it was working. Dr. Grayson had taken a chance on him, and didn't want to see her die because he wasn't up to the job she hired him for.
"Not as far as I can see. If you don't help me, you're going to die anyway,” D'brea said.
"How do you figure that?"
"It's simple. My body has been sleeping for too long. It's going to take a lot to kick-start it back into shape. Regular blood won't work. It's going to take something special to do it."
Breathred didn't even have to listen to know what she planned to say next.
"It's going to take the blood of a ripe virgin. Well, an over-ripe one in your case. And knowing my offspring, they're going to make a big thing out of it."
"A ceremony you mean?” Breathred said absently.
"That's the way they did it back in my day. Goofy looking headdress and a big ol’ knife. You might even get a fancy slab to lie on while they funnel your blood into my body,” she stated, her words doing little to improve his mood.
"How much time do we have?"
"Not much. I can hear them right outside the door."
"Well, don't worry. They can't get in without me. You're safe."
"Don't get too confident. The blonde girl you're with is helping them,” D'brea stated.
"Jessica's the mole?” Breathred said, shocked. He was sure it had been Truehart.
"Yep, and she has some of your blood. Looks like we've got about ten minutes til they come busting through the outer door. If you've got a plan, now would be the time to get going."
Breathred looked worriedly to the door. “Can't you do anything to help out here?"
"Not really. No body, remember?” She ran her hand down her ectoplasmic body. It shimmered as her fingers danced through the edges.
"Is there a back door to this place we might be able to scurry out?” Breathred knew he was grasping at straws, but darn it—there had to be another way out.