So far, he’d managed not to start a panic in Bend. He could still operate with impunity, though the homeless population seemed to be on alert. He probably shouldn’t have thrown the girl’s bones on her own lawn, but maybe some stray dogs would carry them off or something.
It didn’t matter. Stuart didn’t plan to stick around for long.
With each new vampire, he was learning how to bend them more quickly to his will. In a week or two, he’d have enough of them to really accomplish something. He couldn’t wait. He’d pile them into a few vans and they’d invade Crescent City, and he’d show his hometown what he really thought of it.
Chapter 34
It hadn’t gone as Feller had planned. After the ambush at the motel, they’d found only a few straggler vampires. They hadn’t located either the vampire named Jamie, who was the vector of this outbreak, or the Alpha vampire who had set up the ambush. Without them, the victory was incomplete.
Nor had anyone spotted Clarkson since the sighting at the restaurant by Callendar and Jeffers. It was as if she’d disappeared––and yet, not long after that sighting, the vampire attacks had begun. Was Clarkson the cause of the outbreak, and not this Jamie? According to reports, the blonde vampire belonged to the Council of Vampires, the enforcers of the Rules, and this epidemic of new vampires was diametrically opposed to everything the Council stood for; still, it seemed like a strange coincidence.
So far, the FBI had only managed to kill Wilderings, vampires who were vulnerable because they were controlled by their instincts and desires and not by reason; vampires who hadn’t been taught how to survive.
The whole campaign had been a boost to Feller’s career, but without the death of one of the major players, it wasn’t the surefire promotion engine that he’d envisioned. Callendar and Jeffers were going to get too much of the credit. Though Feller had convinced his superiors, through his reports, that he and Abercrombie were the heroes of the Massacre at the Comfort Inn, as it was being called in the Bureau, to his great annoyance, the rank and file were mostly applauding Callendar and Jeffers.
Feller continued to search for vampires, day after day, until even Abercrombie had had enough and stayed back at the motel, watching Judge Judy, and Judge Brown, and Judge whoever else while he waited for Feller to call him for backup.
Feller started patrolling by himself, though it was against regulations. When he wasn’t patrolling, he was poring over the maps and reports of vampire sightings.
He was driving past the abandoned motel and restaurant on the beach for the hundredth time when he suddenly realized that there had been no reports of vampirism in this part of town. He pulled into the parking lot and eyeballed the buildings. They were quiet and dark.
He pulled out the map and checked it. Sure enough, there was a nice, wide empty zone radiating out from the nearby beach and stretching about half a mile inland. Everywhere else in town showed at least a few of the red marks that denoted attacks.
Feller scanned the surrounding terrain. Across the highway from the motel was some thick shrubbery, perfect cover for vampires. The abandoned buildings themselves were the kinds of places a vampire might find irresistible. Had they been checked?
He looked over the reports. There’d been a search in the early days of the epidemic, after Callendar and Jeffers had first gotten into town. Nothing since then. Since there had been no attacks in the vicinity, no one had thought to check again.
A feeling of dread came over him. He could almost sense a vampire lurking within the abandoned motel. Should he call Abercrombie? His partner would come, but if there wasn’t anything here, Feller would never hear the end of it. He could call for backup from one of the other FBI units, but they’d naturally wonder why Abercrombie wasn’t there. An agent who couldn’t get along with his partner didn’t progress far up the ranks.
He had no evidence whatsoever. In fact, there was an absence of evidence. While to Feller the absence of evidence was suspicious, to just about anyone else in the Bureau, it would be the opposite.
But the biggest reason he didn’t call for backup was that Callendar and Jeffers were still in town, and they’d never let him forget it if he called out the troops for no good reason.
Feller pulled the big crucifix he wore around his neck out from under his shirt and draped it over his chest. He loaded his crossbow and checked to make sure he had an extra clip for his pistol, then sprayed himself with holy water. It would take ten or fifteen minutes to evaporate, and even then, it would leave a residue.
But his biggest defense was his caution. He’d approached a thousand buildings like these in his career. He knew how to be quiet and unobtrusive. If there was a vampire in there, he’d probably catch it before it even knew he was there.
The sun was high in the sky when Feller got out of the car, and it made him feel safe.
He crept over to what had been the motel office and peeked in through the slats of the boarded-up window. Inside, it was empty and dusty.
The first motel room was boarded up tight. Feller tried the door, but it was locked. He tried the next three doors, but they were all locked, too. No vampire had entered or exited any of these rooms, as far as he could tell.
Finally, he approached the restaurant. As he was gingerly reaching for the doorknob, the door flew open and several arms shot out and grabbed him. The arms burst into flames, but before he could even shout, they’d dragged him inside.
There wasn’t just one vampire in the room; there were over a dozen. Feller tried to struggle, but his arms were being held tightly behind him. Standing in front of him was a boy, probably in his early teens, who looked up at him and smiled.
“I’ve been reading your reports, Agent Feller,” the kid said. “My name is Hoss. Welcome to the local branch of the Council of Vampires.”
What does that mean? Feller wondered. These were Wilderings if he’d ever seen one. The kid had a measuring look in his eyes.
“If you kill me, every agent in the Bureau will come after you,” Feller said.
“Oh?” the boy said. “I thought they already were.” He turned to a tall kid next to him. “Get his keys. The minute it turns dark, drive his car across town and leave it near the Comfort Inn.”
“OK, Hoss.”
Feller’s heart sank. This was an Alpha vampire––an untrained one, perhaps, but a natural. “Did you set up the ambush?” he asked.
“Not me, though I read about it. Sounded like fun.” Hoss turned to another boy, who was probably just a couple of years older than him. “Hold him down, Jimmy.”
“You heard Hoss! Hold him down!” Jimmy said, delegating, and several vampires rushed forward, grabbed Feller, and dragged him to the table at the center of the room.
“Wait!” he shouted. “I can help you! I have information you need––who’s after you, our numbers, our tactics! Whatever you need!”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Hoss said. “And once you’ve been Turned, I’m going to expect you to tell me all about it.”
“But…” Feller tried desperately to think of way to save himself. “I can be your spy! You need someone who can move around in the daytime. I’ll work for you!”
Hoss walked over to the table and looked down at him. “I’m sure you would, but see, I’m a great believer in the Rules of Vampire. I intend to follow them in all cases. And Rule One is never trust a human.”
He reached down and exposed Feller’s neck. The agent thrashed his head back and forth, but Hoss reached out with one hand and took hold of his forehead. Feller felt the cold breath of the vampire on his neck, then a sharp pain.
As he felt the life drain out of him, his thoughts went to his fellow agents. They’d never liked him. They’d always made fun of him behind his back. Now they were going to know that they’d been right: he was a failure. A joke.
He closed his eyes as the room went dark.
Chapter 35
Once Hoss knew where to look, it was surprisingly easy to find information about vampires on t
he Internet. It was all there. Since practically no one really believed in vampires, it was all couched as fiction, but after a while, Hoss got pretty good at figuring out what was fantasy and what was reality.
The Rules of Vampire, created by the legendary Terrill, and the Council of Vampires, led by the newcomer Fitzsimmons, especially fascinated him. He responded to those ideas. They made sense. Rules and logic had always been his touchstones, had always guided his actions and kept him safe.
And the fact that his little group of vampires had managed to survive, to stay hidden during what was probably the most massive vampire hunt in the history of vampire hunting––well, that was a testament to the utility and wisdom of the Rules.
Some of the other information––the inner workings of the Council, for example, and especially the FBI reports––had been harder to obtain, but Hoss had always had a natural ability to find out what he needed to know, and the clarity that vampirism gave him made him feel as if no secret could be hidden from him for long. If it had ever had a presence on the Net, he’d find it.
That morning, he’d intercepted a message that the leader of the Council, Fitzsimmons, was flying to Crescent City. Even more exciting, Terrill was coming with him.
There was some politicking going on between the two that Hoss didn’t understand. Apparently, there was a human girl in the middle: Sylvie, who, as Hoss understood it, was the sister of the vampire who had started the epidemic, Jamie. How this Sylvie had managed to survive Rule One, he didn’t know.
As soon as he joined up with the Council, Hoss was sure they’d tell him all about it.
He’d let each of his followers have a sip of the FBI agent. There were twenty-five in his group now, all of them firmly under his command. A half dozen more had been told they could leave, but only if they carried a GPS-programmed phone. These traitors had been led to the far room and shut inside, and the curtains had been pulled back and they had burned.
Hoss had put the rest to work, turning part of the motel into a factory for making weapons. The day would come when the Council of Vampires would have to fight other vampires, those who wouldn’t abide by the Rules. Hoss intended to be ready for that day. He’d have the same weapons that the vampire hunters used.
Though he was pretty sure that neither Jimmy nor Jodie had said anything to the others, except perhaps to Pete, who had suddenly begun to show Hoss some proper respect, all the other vampires seemed to sense that betraying him wasn’t a good idea.
They didn’t understand. It wasn’t about him. It was about the Rules.
Hoss waited for Feller to Turn. He had been timing the procedure, and it seemed to take between one and three hours. According to everything he’d read, this was a new phenomenon. Historically, most people who were bitten never Turned: the figure one in twenty was used. And it usually took days, and that was under ideal circumstances.
Hoss was at the center of an outbreak, and he was taking notes. The Council of Vampires would want to know everything.
Two hours after the FBI agent stopped breathing, he sat up. Hoss had saved the flank of a horse they’d killed the night before in a pasture across the highway, and now he fed it to the newly Turned vampire. Feller devoured the raw meat down to the bone. Slowly, the Wildering look faded from his eyes.
“Can we talk?” Hoss asked.
#
When Feller woke up, he knew at once what had happened to him. He opened his eyes and stared out at the world with vampire sight, sharper and deeper than the vision he’d had as a human. He could see into the shadows. He could see the motivations in the eyes of the other vampires.
Sometimes at night a thought would drift into his brain in the form of a question: What would it be like to be a vampire, immortal and strong? Now he realized that the question had always been a desire, too.
Now he knew. It felt good. All the doubts, all the worries about whether he was good enough, all the guilt about the times he’d fallen short and let down his compatriots and had had to cover it up: all that was gone. He existed now for himself and only himself, and it felt good.
He looked at Hoss and knew exactly what to say. “What do you want to know?”
As he was questioned, he answered with only half his mind. The other half marveled at the strength flowing through his veins. He raised his arm to his mouth and felt the fangs extrude, and took a small nip of his own flesh. The blood that welled up was blue.
“Sorry,” he said as Hoss fell silent in mid-question.
The young vampire looked annoyed, but he said, “I quite understand. I did the same thing. Now, can we get back to our little discussion?”
“What was the question?”
“How long does the FBI intend to keep searching for vampires?” Hoss repeated impatiently.
“Well, here’s the thing,” Feller said. “My disappearing won’t help. I was the only one keeping us here, frankly. But when they realize I’m gone, they’ll gear up for another door-to-door search. I don’t think you’ll escape their notice a second time.”
Hoss gave Feller back his phone. “Call them,” he said. “Tell them you’re pursuing an out-of-town lead. Tell them that you’re satisfied that all that can be done in Crescent City has been done.”
This kid is smart, Feller thought. When he’d first woken up, he’d thought he could easily gain control of the situation. But Hoss looked to be firmly in charge, so Feller changed his mind: he’d get out of here at the first opportunity, and go off and explore his new powers without interference from a teenage control freak.
He called Abercrombie and told him what the kid had suggested he tell him. To his amazement, Abercrombie bought it.
“We’re packing up,” his partner said. “Leaving a skeleton crew. Callendar and Jeffers have asked to stay, but the rest of us are leaving. See you back at headquarters.”
“Uh, right,” Feller said. He ended the call and shook his head. He’d never thought his colleagues would buy it, but upon reflection, he realized they all wanted out of this small town, and now that Feller had all but given his permission for them to leave, they probably wouldn’t question him on it.
The vampires spent the rest of the evening discussing the situation. Hoss let slip the fact that representatives of the Council of Vampires were headed this way and that he intended to meet them. Feller decided that he, too, would like to meet Fitzsimmons and offer him his services. But he wasn’t going to do that as the flunky of some teenage vampire, no matter how smart. He had to get away from here.
They talked through the entire night. It was light outside when Feller finally brought up the subject. “I want to check out the town. See what’s happening.”
“No,” Hoss said firmly. “No one leaves here without permission.”
“I understand that,” Feller said, keeping the exasperation out of his voice. This kid craved respect, and he tried to show that respect on his face. “That’s why I’m asking… boss.”
Hoss looked at him suspiciously. Had he overplayed his hand?
“Perhaps, in a day or two,” Hoss said.
That would be too late. The Council jet was arriving the next night.
“I really must insist,” Feller said, exasperated. “I understand that you’re in charge here, but I’m a free agent, young fellow. I’ve had years of experience. You really are just going to have to let me leave.”
Hoss looked over at Jimmy and Pete as if wondering whether he should order them to restrain Feller. Then he shrugged.
“Very well, if you must, you must. This isn’t a dictatorship. But I insist that you carry one of our GPS-programmed phones. Jodie? Will you take Agent Feller to where the phones are and let him pick one out?”
“OK, Hoss,” she said cheerfully.
Feller followed the little vixen, surprised at how easy that had been. They passed through several rooms with the adjoining walls knocked out, and once again, the planning involved in sheltering this group of Wilderings impressed Feller. From the outside, it didn’t
look like anyone was in these rooms. Feller had thought there might be one vampire here, perhaps two, and he’d been sure he could take them. He hadn’t expected a dozen or more.
Jodie opened the connecting door to the last room and Feller started to step through, but something made him stop. Later, he asked himself what had alerted him. He was an experienced FBI agent, trained to notice small clues. As a vampire, those small clues were magnified. There was the slightest odor of burned flesh. He noticed some strings hanging from the wall and wondered what they were for. He saw some black marks on the floor.
He stepped back.
“You know what?” he said. “I’ve changed my mind.”
From Jodie’s surprised expression, he knew that he had guessed right: walking into that room would have been a big mistake. He followed her cute little butt back to the restaurant and savored the looks of alarm on Pete and Jimmy’s faces when they saw him. Hoss managed to keep a blank face, but Feller saw a flash of anger in his eyes.
“I’m sorry for putting you through all that trouble,” Feller said. “Now I can see the wisdom of your advice. I think I’ll stick around.”
He moved over to one side of the room and sat down with his back to the wall, and vowed to stay awake until the chance of escape presented itself.
Chapter 36
Now that he had found Jamie, all the adrenaline that had kept Robert going for so long had vanished, leaving a husk of a body weakened by pain. When he stood up and took her in his arms, he almost doubled over from the sudden agonizing ache. He gritted his teeth and held back a gasp.
But the warm feeling that washed over him, starting at his forehead and moving downward over his body, cancelled the pain for a brief time. This was the most joyous moment of his life. If there had ever been the slightest doubt that he loved Jamie, it was drowned in the feelings of joy and contentment that suffused his body.
The Vampire Evolution Trilogy (Book 2): Rule of Vampire Page 17