"So the council protects all of the tomes?" Mikhaeli asked.
"Yes, but their locations are unknown for safety."
"I see," Mikhaeli said.
"I have the secret spell to call forth all vampires in the region. Do we have an agreement?"
Mikhaeli laughed. She bared her fangs and hissed. She smiled knowingly at the Empress of Russia. Catherine knew that her response was not favorable.
"GUARDS!" she bellowed.
Four guards burst into the room. They carried long wooden spears. Two stood behind their empress and two stood in front of her. Their helmed faces were cold and impassive.
"GUARDS! DO YOUR QUEEN'S BIDDING!" she commanded.
The guards dropped their spears. The long wooden weapons clanked on the marble floor. They removed their helms. Their pale undead faces stared at Catherine II. They bared their fangs and hissed. She screamed. They each grabbed onto her and pulled her to the floor. She pressed her silver ring into one of their faces. The vampire screamed but he held onto her arm. Moments later, she was pinned to the floor.
Screams could be heard throughout the castle. Mikhaeli smiled as she strolled towards the restrained Russian leader. The older woman began to tremble and sweat. Mikhaeli straddled her. She grabbed her ring adorned finger. She licked it seductively. She smiled before she ripped the finger from her hand. The bone snapped loudly. Catherine screamed as her blood streamed into the air. The vampires sipped the escaping blood.
"Now, now," Mikhaeli cooed, "You weren't playing nice and you had to be punished."
"H…How?" Catherine stammered through the pain and fear.
Mikhaeli threw her head back and laughed as she began to gyrate against her. She tilted her head back before she stared at the frightened queen. "You think that I have sat back and done nothing for the last two decades. Lord Viktor kept journals and I have studied them. He had memorized the spell to call the army. It was transcribed into one of his many journals. When your soldiers arrived, they became dinner for my army which I had called years ago."
"The council will…"
Mikhaeli slapped her and broke her jaw. "You think that I fear your precious little council? Now that I know the location of the tomes, they will fear me."
Catherine blanched. She realized that in her boasting that she could have doomed humanity. She began to cry.
Mikhaeli looked at her minions. "I'm sorry," she cooed. "You must be hungry. You may feed."
Catherine screamed as the four vampires bit into each limb.
"GENTLEMEN!" she screamed and the four vampires, with blood dripping from their mouths, stopped. "Much better. I have told you before that you shouldn't play with your food."
The vampires smiled and viciously pulled. Catherine screamed for help as they ripped her limbs from her body. Tendons snapped and flesh ripped. Blood sprayed everywhere. It covered Mikhaeli. She laughed as it covered her body. It dripped down her face and she licked it greedily. She ripped the lifeless head from Catherine's torso. She drained the blood from the skull and tossed it aside. She stood when a man burst into the room.
"Empress?" the pug-nosed man called.
Mikhaeli laughed at the small statured man. He trembled at sight of the blood drenched vampire. The heir to the Russian Empire removed his saber and pointed at his frightful foe.
"Get back demon!" he called through false bravado.
Mikhaeli continued to walk forward until the tip of the blade pressed against her abdomen. Paul, Catherine's son, held firm and the blade pierced her leather outfit. She continued to walk. The blade dug deeper into her undead flesh. She screamed in ecstasy as the cold steel pushed into her body. She threw her head back.
"HARDER!" she demanded.
The frightened man pushed the blade into her body. She screamed louder again. She grabbed his hand and pushed his hand away. She slammed the blade completely through her body. Slowly, she pulled it out as she screamed with pleasure. She pulled the blade out of her body and she dragged her tongue down the blade.
"Got to clean it after it has done such a good job. Don't you agree?" she asked seductively before bursting into laughter. She tossed the sword aside. It fell onto the blood stained marble floor.
Paul shivered as she approached. Screams continued throughout the castle. Pleas for mercy and prayers could be heard. Mikhaeli reveled in the fear. She licked her blood soaked lips and she stared at Paul. She rubbed her hand up and down his quivering chest.
"Do you know where your mother kept our secrets?" she asked sweetly.
Paul nodded quickly. "Y…Y…Yes."
Mikhaeli growled and rubbed her thigh on his leg. "Oh," she moaned, "Do you know what that does to me? It makes a girl really excited."
"R…R…Really?" the excited but confused heir to the Russian Empire asked.
Mikhaeli leaned over and sucked on his ear. "If you were to get them for me, I would be really grateful," she said breathily.
"I…I…I will be back momentarily."
The Russian heir quickly disappeared into the castle. Mikhaeli smiled and swayed back to the throne. She picked up some of the bloody remains and poured the remaining blood into her golden chalice. She sipped the powerful blood of the former empress as she sat. Seconds later, one of her vampires appeared. He was drenched in blood. He dashed to her feet and dropped to one knee.
"We have secured the castle, My Queen," he said.
She smiled. "You have done well. Has that little troll of a man unlocked the vault yet?"
"Yes," the vampire replied, "He should be appearing shortly. What shall we do with him after he arrives?"
She scoffed. "Put the useless little goblin in power. We need to keep up appearances to keep the council away from us. You will be required to stay here and keep him in line."
"As you wish, My Queen. What else do you desire?"
She smiled as she sipped her blood. "Find me the missing tomes."
Her evil smile grew.
CHAPTER 5
DENVER, COLORADO
Present day…
The sun rose on a bright and beautiful early autumn Colorado day. The Rocky Mountains, often called the backbone of the United States of America, stood tall in the sky. The motorists battled the bright glare from the powerful morning sun. Several honks and curses were uttered as they complained about the never-ending highway construction. David Spires, the owner of Rocky Mountain Comics, hoped that the nice weather and the traffic would not keep patrons away as he opened his fledgling business for the day.
David Spires, a small statured man, was a self-professed science fiction fanatic. Since high school, David Spires aspired to own a comic book and roleplaying games store. A native Californian, David had moved to Colorado over twenty years ago to avoid the massive competition in California. The now middle-aged comic enthusiast struggled in the tough economic times to keep his business running against the larger comic chains and the always increasing comic book prices.
When he was ten years old, he could go to his local convenience store or supermarket with a couple dollars and come home with five or six comics. Most of the titles during that time were forty cents. If he had known that those same comic books would have been worth a small fortune today, he wouldn't have read them as religiously as he had during his youth. However, had he only collected them for their potential value, he wouldn't have had the same passion for the characters and the medium of entertainment. By the time that he started college in the late 1980s, the price had been raised to a dollar per comic book. The prices were not astronomical, but the same couple of dollars now only purchased one or two titles before taxes were included. Today, comic books now ranged from three dollars to the expensive graphic novels which could be anywhere from eight to fifteen dollars. For someone wanting to pass along his passion through his business, the comic book industry wasn't making his life any easier.
Another factor that hampered David's passion and his bottom line was his love for many characters. That same passion, coupled with
his passion for rare and unusual books, had completely crippled his income streams. However, if it wasn't for his passion for rare and unusual comics or books, he wouldn't have met his best friend and current business partner: Christopher Heart.
Christopher Heart, an athletically built man, walked into Rocky Mountain Comics ten months ago. He claimed to have been a comic collector and he was looking to have his comic book collection appraised. Rocky Mountain Comics was one of his many stops according to his story. The mysterious man carried a steel briefcase with several rare comics locked inside. Due to the alleged value of his collection, Mr. Heart had insisted that another appraiser be available. David immediately called Myles Blanks, a transplant from the great State of Georgia and a fellow comic book enthusiast, to come to Rocky Mountain Comics.
When Mr. Heart opened his briefcase, both men were rendered speechless. In a plastic case, Mr. Heart had a copy of Cancelled Comics Cavalcade. It was one of the rarest comics in the world. Only thirty-five copies were ever known to have existed. The comic was a collection of two dozen comic book titles that had been quickly cancelled by DC Comics in 1978. During the mid to late 1970s, DC Comics was losing ground to its main rival Marvel Comics. In an effort to reclaim its lost glory, it began publishing many new or revamped old titles. It didn't work and they continued to suffer financially. In 1978, they cancelled many titles and those same two dozen titles were released in the Cancelled Comics Cavalcade. The comic was produced on photocopiers by the DC Comics staff to protect any company copyright claims. They were never officially released to the public. For Mr. Heart to produce a copy in mint condition meant that he had some serious connections.
David and Myles stared in bewilderment at the color cover of the comic book. They had heard legends about the mysterious book, but they had never actually seen one in person. When Mr. Heart inquired to its value, they couldn't give him an answer. They expected that the comic book could generate enough interest on eBay, the popular internet auction site, to generate at least a five figure if not a six figure price from a serious collector. Mr. Heart thanked them and then asked them if they had time to examine several more pieces of his collection. Considering the rarity of the first comic, the two comic book geeks drooled in anticipation.
The next three comic book titles made David's heart skip a beat. Action Comics #1 featuring the debut of Superman caused him to nearly suck all of the available air out of the room. Mr. Heart smiled and stated that he hoped that it could get him a few dollars. The comic, along with Detective Comics #27 which featured the first appearance of Batman and Amazing Fantasy #15, which featured the first appearance of Spider-Man, was in mint condition. The two men believed that they had to be forgeries due to their condition. Mr. Heart allowed them to examine the titles with gloves that he had provided and Myles, feeling lightheaded, had to sit down when they were able to determine that the comics were indeed genuine. However, David nearly vomited due to the shock of seeing the rarest comic book ever known: Flash Comics #1.
Not to be confused with the scarlet clad superhero who had superspeed, Flash Comics was a one-time produced ashcan copy of the original version of Captain Marvel who was often mistakenly referred to as Shazam. It was produced to establish a copyright of the character then known as Captain Thunder. The ashcan, sometimes referred to as a trashcan copy, was printed for the sole purpose of providing a publication date and copyright. They were often printed one-time on any paper that they could find even if it was waste paper. However, another company had already produced a title with the same character and name. The character was later renamed and produced in another title. As far as David and Myles were concerned, this comic could be considered the 'Holy Grail of Comics.' Again, it was in perfect condition. To this day, he had never forgotten their subsequent conversation.
"Is this thing real?" David asked.
"Has anything that I have shown you been anything but the genuine article?" Mr. Heart asked.
"Y…Y…Yes," David stammered. "I didn't even know that this still existed. How did you get it?"
"The artist was an old friend of mine," he replied.
"Old friend?" Myles asked. "This comic is at least sixty years old and the artist has to be dead. You can't be any more than thirty years old."
"Thirty-one actually. Am I not allowed to have old friends?" Mr. Heart asked.
"B…B…But…" Myles stammered.
At that point in the conversation, Mr. Heart walked to the front door and switched the sign to 'closed' and he locked the door. He pulled the blinds as the two men stood in stunned silence. They expected that they were about to be shot. David tried to look brave, but his entire body was trembling.
The darkness of the room seemed to enhance his mysterious aura. "Gentlemen, I will require your further assistance. With your knowledge of these rare items, I am assuming that you are well-versed in research," Mr. Heart stated.
"W…W…We met in college. We are both ancient history majors," David said.
"I think I am going to fucking piss myself," the terrified Myles said.
Mr. Heart shook his head. "Gentlemen, you have nothing to fear…"
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who is going to be an accessory to stolen merchandise," Myles blurted.
Mr. Heart's stared coldly at Myles. "I own everything that you see and a lot more. In fact, I am formally requesting that these items be used as a down payment for your business," he said.
"D…Down payment?" David stammered. "We could buy the entire building and the hair salon next door with this kind of money. Hell, we could probably purchase the entire block."
"Interesting," Mr. Heart said.
David stopped daydreaming as he displayed the latest issues of their Marvel Comics stock. Chris, as he now called him instead of Mr. Heart, had left after saying 'Interesting.' He had let himself out of the store and walked next door to the owner of the hair salon. Two hours later, he walked into Rocky Mountain Comics with the title to the hair salon and to the building. A week later, he had sold the hair salon equipment back to the owners at a severe loss under the stipulation that they clear out the building within two days. Three days later, he had the building refurbished into an antique bookstore which Myles now managed.
David had finished stocking the comics as Myles walked through the front door. The light-skinned African-American man had put on a few pounds since they had first met. He had put on even more weight since he started working with Chris. He had an old book tucked under his right arm. Myles constantly stressed about their businesses. Ironically, it never seemed to faze their business partner.
"Busy, I see," David said sarcastically.
Myles rubbed his face with his hand. "I've had one customer in the last hour. It was someone looking to fence a book. However, since it looked like it came from the turn of the century, I had to buy it."
"Yeah, I know the policy," David said glumly.
"How does he do it?" Myles asked.
"Do what?" David retorted.
"Continue to lose money month after month without worrying about it. If it were you and I alone…"
"We'd be destitute, I know. Somehow he is able to keep us afloat and paid."
"Speaking of the brooding geek, is he here? I want to show him this book," Myles said.
"Yeah, he's in the back picking through the inventory for his collection," David said.
"More money down the drain," Myles said sarcastically as he walked to the back of the store.
The back of the comic store had been remodeled after Christopher had purchased the building. Offices were built and the old apartment above the store had been remodeled. Chris moved in the same day that the apartment was finished. It was the basic single occupant apartment except one of the bedrooms had been turned into his personal vault. Myles teased him that it was his own personal 'Batcave,' but it was his comic book archive. They were only permitted to enter with his permission while wearing safety suits. No one was allowed to touch anything.
"Hard at work again, I see," Myles said sarcastically as he entered Chris' office.
"Yes," Chris said without looking up from inspecting the latest issue of Uncanny X-Men.
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