by Kimbra Swain
“Friend of yours?” I asked.
“Hardly, get in the car and drive. Back to the loft as fast as we can,” she said. I drove like a maniac. The old Mustang handled fabulously. I wished she would give it to me. We pulled into the garage, and she walked to the sidewalk.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Sending a signal,” she said. She pointed the Bo staff to the sky, and the runes flared bright orange. “Solaris!” she yelled. A bright orange ball jetted into the sky, and the whole horizon lit up like it was daylight. Back in the building, we entered a room off the back side of the lobby where Tommy and Tony had a weapons locker. She started pulling small pistols and loading them. I helped her without disturbing her. I noticed her hands started to shake.
“Abby?” I dared to speak to her.
“Hm?” she responded.
“How are you holding up?” I asked.
“Don’t ask. Don’t make me talk about it. It only makes me weaker,” she said.
“Abby, you are not weak,” I said.
“No, I’m not. If you get me to blubbering like an idiot, because my best friend has been kidnapped by a blood sucking piece of shit, we are going to have words, Lukas Castille!”
I should have left it alone. I continued to check the guns as everyone started to return. Tony and Tommy arrived first. They packed up the weapons one by one. Jay and Aiden came in and helped load everything into the Yukon. Aiden asked Fayola to stay behind. The building was protected, so she agreed to stay. “Abby, are you going to wear that to the party?” Fayola asked her.
“Yes, I’m not in the mood for dresses tonight. Aiden stay with her,” she said. We all piled in the Yukon. Tony and Tommy in the front. Jay, Abby and I rode in the back. Her hands were still shaking. I saw her trying to concentrate. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. I looked out the window and prayed we would get there in time. She rested her hand down on my knee, and without hesitation, I covered it with mine. It was cold, and I still felt a little tremor.
We arrived at the banquet hall. Everyone piled out of the vehicle, but she held onto my hand so I wouldn’t get out. They all shut the doors and waited outside. I never understood how they knew that she wanted them to do certain things like let us talk in the car alone.
“Lukas, is there any way I could convince you to wait out here? Or to stay out of this fight?” she asked.
“What? This is my city. No way. Why would you even ask me that?” I said.
“Because you aren’t like the rest of us. We have a certain resilience against injury. You are human, and I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she said.
“No. I’m going in there,” I replied adamantly.
“I could make you stay,” she whispered.
“You won’t do that to me.”
“If it meant saving your life, yes, I would,” she said.
“Look at me, Abby. I’m going in there, and we are going to save our friend. I have to prove to them that this is my city, and they will not kidnap anyone in my city as long as I live and breathe,” I said holding her gaze. Her eyes glossed over, but she shook it off.
“That’s what I am afraid of,” she said and pushed out of the door on the other side of the vehicle. I got out and checked my weapons.
“Stay close,” Tony said.
“I’m fine, man,” I told him. “She just gave me the ‘you aren’t immortal’ talk. I’m aware of my inadequacies.”
“You don’t understand,” he simply said. We walked to the front door, armed and ready for a fight. Abby carried her Bo staff, crackling with electricity. She held her free hand out in front of her, and the double doors crashed open. We all walked through weapons drawn. We entered the hall through the lobby. The vamps had already taken over the hall. Most of the people from the company were rounded up along the sides. There were fifty or more vamps in the room. Abigail did not flinch or hesitate. From the moment she walked into the room, all eyes were on her. She demanded attention with her presence.
“Forgive me for my tardiness. I had a detour on the way to the party. I see we have uninvited guests,” she said staring at a tall, thin man who stood in the middle of the round surrounded by a dozen vamps. He wore a suit that looked like it came out of a Shakespearean play. It even had ruffles. His skin looked stretched, and it was pasty white. His eyes were pale with very little color in them at all. Ashley laid bloody at his feet. I couldn’t tell if she was alive or not.
“Sorry for the distraction, but we needed enough time to surprise you here at your big celebration. It is fantastic! The Agency spares no expense when it comes to introducing a new proxy. Unfortunately, the proxy that you spent so much time training, will die tonight. It’s a shame. He’s rather handsome,” the vampire said and blew me a kiss.
“Sorry buddy. I like my partners living. You aren’t my type,” I rebutted.
“All the same, you will die,” he said.
“Thibault, I’m giving you and your colony of vamps one minute to leave. If not, I start dusting,” Abigail said.
“Now Abby, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. I do miss Lincoln. It’s a shame that the two of you aren’t together anymore. He didn’t make threats that he couldn’t back up,” he laughed, and the shrill noise echoed through the hall.
“How disappointing it must have been to realize you miscalculated by taking Ashley. Of all my team, you picked the only one you couldn’t feed on. The only one you cannot kill,” Abby said.
“It was a miscalculation, but she can cease to be like the rest of us. Consequently, in the end, the result is the same,” he said.
“You have laws. Are you prepared to break the laws of your own people?” Abby asked.
The questions raced through my mind. What was Ashley?
“She hardly qualifies. You’ve made her impotent. I’ve reminded her what she truly is on the inside. Ashley, my dear, show your best friend that you remember your old self,” Thibault said and yanked Ashley's head back by her hair. Her eyes glowed blood red. Her fangs extended out of her mouth, and she hissed at Thibault. Blood leaked out the corners of her mouth and dripped down her chin. “There, there, sweetheart, your torment will end soon.”
Abby didn’t flinch or budge. She knew exactly what Ashley was. “Time’s up,” she said and whirled the staff. The vamp in front of her dusted and fell to the ground in a pile of dust. “Who’s next?” she asked. The hall erupted in gunfire, as not only the crew and I started shooting vamps, but most of the employees of The Agency pulled weapons and started firing. I kept an eye on Abby’s back, but she had four of them dusted before I hit the second one in the chest. Abby had made her way to Thibault, and he pulled a long saber to counter her staff. Ashley laid on the floor curled in a ball. I tried to make my way to her, but Tony caught my arm.
“No, Lukas, we will have to treat her before you can get close to her,” he said.
I nodded and turned to fight. I got tackled by a female vampire. She hissed in my face, leaning toward my neck. I had that surreal feeling like I was in an old Dracula movie. Her eyes bulged out of her head, and saliva dripped from her mouth onto my face.
“Did anyone ever tell you that your breath stinks? You should really see a dentist,” I quipped and shoved the dagger I had in my coat pocket into her heart. She dusted all over me. I even got some in my mouth. I started hacking and coughing. I turned to look at Abby, and she watched me. “I’m fine. Quit playing ring around the rosies with the vampire and kill him,” I shouted at her. A huge smile spread across her face, and she turned back to her fight.
Eventually, the hall cleared of vamps. All that remained were piles of dust and Thibault. Abby had him under her boot with his sword pointed at his chest, he screamed, “Parley!”
“There is no parley!” She growled at him.
“You took my best friend. You bled her. You crashed my party,” and at this point I interrupted her.
“Ahem, my party,” I said.
“Lukas,” she grow
led at me.
“Calm down, princess,” I said and walked to her side. “What’s parley?”
“Not now, Lukas,” she said.
“Nope, I figure this whole thing has been a great learning opportunity for the new proxy in town. Tell me about parley, please. Pretty please,” I said annoying her.
“I’m going to beat the crap out of you after I dust this motherfucker,” she said. “The Agency set up bi-laws ages ago. No one follows them anymore. But under duress an enemy can request parley, or negotiations. The vamps have never followed the rules of parley.”
“Is this true, Thibault? Your people never followed the rules?” I asked.
“We didn’t agree to the bi-laws,” he spat.
“How in the world am I to grant you a cease-fire under terms you never agreed to?” I said.
“I will sign them now,” he quickly responded. “I will sign them on behalf the entire colony in Los Angeles.”
“Does he have that authority, Abby?” I asked.
“He is the leader of the colony,” she said through gritted teeth and pressed the sword harder to his chest. He whimpered.
“What all would these bi-laws include?” I asked.
“The vamps would keep their activities to approved venues. They could not deviate from their territory. We would not enter it to clear the colony. Their intake would be monitored, and we would execute any violators without remorse,” she said. She was quickly reaching her tolerance level with my assertion of authority. I needed to wrap this up.
“Interesting, so we would regulate their feeding,” I said. “But they would still kill people.”
“Yes, they would still kill people,” she said. “An adult vampire feeds on 3 or 4 victims a week at the very least. Thibault, here is close to 200 years old. His death count is well over 30,000 lives.”
“No, no, we can cut back. We could reduce our intake. I swear it. I will sign whatever terms you require, Proxy Castille,” he added the moniker to boost my ego.
I leaned over him and said, “I’m willing to bet, Mr. Deschanel, that you haven’t moderated your intake in decades. I’m also willing to bet that 30,000 is a low-ball number. That’s just unacceptable for me and my town,” and put my hands-on top of Abby’s and shoved the sword into his chest. Thibault Deschanel ceased to exist, and Los Angeles was better for it. Abby turned to me in fury. Her body tensed, and she started to lunge at me. But Ashley called her name.
“Abby, help me,” she cried.
Abby dropped the sword in the dust and ran to Ashley. Abby didn’t fear her even in this state. Everyone kept their distance, except for a young man of Asian descent that pushed his way through the crowd to them. He knelt next to Ashley. I knew him from his employee profile.
“Miss Davenport, I have some of the serum in my laboratory back at the office. If we can get her there, I can help her,” he said.
“Thank you. I’m sorry. I don’t know your name,” she said.
“I’m Dr. Maki. Ichiro Maki,” he said. “Please move her quickly.” Tony and Tommy pushed through the crowd, and Tommy picked her up. Tony made way for the group to exit. Jay came behind me, patting me on the back.
“She will get over it, Lukas. You needed to show authority. She knows that,” he said as he patted dust of the sleeves of his tuxedo jacket.
“Yeah, but I’m sure I’ll pay for it dearly,” I said.
He laughed, “Yeah, you will.”
He and I followed the team out, and we rushed Ashley back to the main offices for KBS. In the basement, Dr. Maki had a lab. He was part of research and development. He went in the doors of the lab, and a woman just over 5ft tall stood looking into a microscope.
“Jackie, go into the freezer and get the serum,” he said.
They went into a side room. There was a gurney and machines like the ones they have in hospital rooms. They strapped Ashley down on the bed, and Abby brushed her auburn hair out of her face. It was crusted with dried blood. Her whole body was covered in it. “We will get you fixed up, okay?”
“Thank you, Abby. I’m sorry I got caught,” she murmured. Her eyes were still red.
“It’s not a big deal. We got to dust a whole colony of vamps. It was fun, and Lincoln will be delighted that we finally ended the life of Thibault Deschanel. Dr. Maki is going to give you the serum,” Abby told her.
“It’s going to hurt,” she said as tears ran down her cheeks.
“Yes, I’m so sorry,” Abby said.
“It’s okay. I’ll be okay,” she said. Dr. Maki came back into the room with a syringe.
“Please clear the room,” he requested.
We all left him with Ashley. Abby stood at the door. I moved further back in the room, and Jay joined me.
“What is the serum?” I asked.
“It’s a concoction that the Agency developed in an effort to reverse the bloodlust of vampires. It never worked, but Ashley is different. She was already immortal when they turned her. Her genetic make-up made her unique. Abby rescued her from a colony in Scotland. She heard of Ashley’s ability for premonition and went to recruit her. She didn’t know she was a vampire. They became friends almost immediately. Abby made the Agency restart the research, but gear it specifically toward Ashley’s unique situation. It worked. In fact, it took them little time to adapt the serum. Ashley only needs the one dose, and it basically makes her vampire genes become dormant. The genes can only be restarted by feeding on human blood,” he said.
“She fed today?” I asked.
“More than likely, they forced her to feed. She wouldn’t do it on her own,” Jay said.
Ashley started screaming in the small medical room. It only lasted a minute. Then I could see over Abby’s shoulder that she appeared to be asleep.
“Are you sure about that?” Abby asked the doctor.
“Yes, the serum and the anesthesia process through different systems in the body. They will not interact or interfere with each other. It will make the process much less painful for her,” he assured Abby.
“Thank you, Dr. Maki,” she said. She looked exhausted. She had the strength to fight throughout the day, holding herself together for her friend, but it was all catching up with her now. Tommy took a stance outside Ashley’s door, and he nodded at Tony. I guess they were going to take shifts watching over her. Abby slipped out of the lab, back into the basement hallway. I turned to follow her out, but Jay grabbed my arm.
“Be careful,” he said handing me the keys to the SUV.
“You don’t have to warn me. I know,” I said as I went out of the door. I turned to my left, and Abby was leaning with her shoulder on the wall. She had her back to me.
“Let’s go back to the loft. You need some rest,” I said.
“Don’t presume to know what I need, Lukas Castille,” she said bitterly.
I approached her to try to talk some sense into her, and she quickly turned around to face me. Her anger was tempered by her fatigue.
“I don’t presume anything, Abby. I know you are tired. Please, let me take you home,” I said reaching for her.
She snarled at me, “What the hell did you think you were doing back there?”
“I was doing what you taught me to do. This is my city, and I am in charge. I know you are here and out rank me. But everyone in that room knows that Los Angeles is mine, and they will respect that and follow me. You taught me all of this,” I explained to her.
“I am your boss. When I am in town, you follow me,” she spouted.
“What does it matter? He’s dead. I have no delusions of my position in relation to you, Abby. Did you think for a second I would let that evil creature out of that room alive?”
“I didn’t know,” she said.
“Come on, you know me better than that. At least, I thought you did. We’ve spent months together and talked about all sorts of scenarios that I would face. You know, I have no tolerance for the death of innocent people,” I yelled at her.
She pointed her finger i
n my chest and said, “You were a fool to even go in that hall in the first place. If I had lost you...”
“You’d start your search over again. I’m sure you could find some other gullible man to follow your pretty words and pretty face. However, I’m still here, and you are stuck with me. You can be mad if you want to be. I did what was right,” I said wrapping my hand over hers while she still pressed her finger against my chest.
“There is no one like you, Lukas,” she lowered her head and looked at the floor. I realized it then. I had always dismissed it because I didn’t think it was possible. I’d heard her diatribe on why humans and immortal beings shouldn’t be in relationships.
I did not hesitate and wrapped my arms around her, and she buried her head into my neck. She let go of all the stress of the day, but more than that, it seemed as though a long while of hidden emotions escaped her. I lifted her up into my arms.
She had a good cry on the way home. I just held her hand. She composed herself before we reached the building. She rode the elevator up with me and never said a word. We walked into the loft, and she slipped out of the leather jacket. She threw it on the floor. After the jacket, she pulled off her boots and threw them with the jacket. I stood motionless, watching eagerly as each piece of clothing she wore hit the pile.
“I’m covered in vampire dust. I’m going to get a shower,” she said walking away from me into her room completely naked. I gulped. “You are covered in it, too.”
In a world record time, I stripped out of the suit, piling it with her clothes. She was already in the shower. I took a deep breath and pinched myself. I was sure it wasn’t happening. I opened the glass door of the shower and stepped inside with her. The water was hot and washed the dust off of me. She pulled me to her and kissed me. In her kiss, I felt hunger and passion. I had dreamed of kissing her, but never allowed myself to think she would ever actually do it. I looked into her eyes, and all the anger and pain from earlier was gone. I touched her face. Her beautiful face.