by Sean Stone
“Eddie, how’d you like to triple your money?” Arthur asked. The salt hit the table at once.
“I’m listening,” he said, eyes on Arthur.
“There’s a vampire who needs rescuing,” said Arthur and then explained the whole situation. “So, do you think you can get him out?” he said when he was finished.
“With all the power I have inside me now, taking on a few vampires should be no problem,” he said, full of confidence. Arthur chose not to inform him that there were more than a few vampires in the underground manor.
“So you’ll do it?”
“Absolutely.”
“So, where exactly is this Richie guy?” Eddie asked. He and Arthur were sitting in Arthur’s car outside Morgan’s. There was still a few hours of sunlight left and they needed to get this done before the vampires started to rise.
“Well, that’s the thing. I have no idea. Ramsay could have him anywhere,” Arthur confessed, hoping Eddie wouldn’t back out now.
“So I’m just supposed to go in and hunt around a giant underground palace until I find Richie Morgan?” Eddie asked hotly, holding up the picture of Richie he’d been given.
“Pretty much. And try not to get seen by any vampires, especially Ramsay.”
“And Ramsay is the first vampire ever created and the one I really need to watch out for?” Eddie clarified.
“He’s one of the first yes. The only one you need to worry about.”
“Terrific. Just terrific. Triple isn’t going to cut it, Arthur. I want quadruple,” Eddie demanded.
“I’ll give you ten grand,” said Arthur. It wasn’t a huge amount of money for Arthur, he was fairly rich, but getting to it would be difficult because the town was on lockdown and the banks were all closed. “Will you take a cheque?”
“You better be good for it,” Eddie said, pointing a finger at him. “Now, I’m gonna get this shit done before the sun sets and I turn into a walking buffet. You better not leave this exact spot.” He opened the door roughly and ambled out of the car thinking about how shit this whole deal had been. He’d been attacked by mummies, dragged into a town where he might be shot on sight and now he had to go into a vampire infested den and search for one vampire who could be anywhere whilst one of the oldest vampires in history was going to be doing everything he could to make sure he did not get rescued. But £10,000 would see him sorted for a good while.
Eddie reached the door to the nightclub and turned to make sure Arthur hadn’t gone anywhere. The car was cloaked, but Eddie could see it because he’d come from it. Arthur gave him a brief wave and then Eddie entered the club. The lobby was small and held only the entrance to a flight of descending stairs. Eddie began the walk down to what would almost certainly be his doom. At the bottom of the stairs he entered the main club. A dark space with a red and brown decor. Several booths lined the far wall, but all of them were empty. The only person present was a barmaid, a sort blonde woman with a moody face and too much time on her hands. She stood behind the bar staring at Eddie.
“Good afternoon!” Eddie said jovially as he approached.
“Is it?” she said in can’t-be-bothered voice.
Eddie considered the question. “Depends who you are, I suppose. Are you the familiar then?” he asked.
“What?” she asked, clearly having no clue what he meant.
“Ramsay’s pet? You do all the grunt work during the day because he has to sleep.”
“I ain’t nobody’s pet, mate. What do you want?” she said, full of attitude. Eddie didn’t blame her.
“I need to get downstairs. Is that the door over there?” he asked, pointing at the dark wooden door on the other side of the dance floor. It wasn’t even guarded.
“You ain’t going nowhere,” she said.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Have you got any ice?”
“What? Ice? Yeah,” she said, confused.
“Good. You’ll need that when you wake up.” He snapped his fingers and she collapsed on the spot, whacking her head on the bar on her way to the floor. Eddie spared her no pity as he headed for the door and descended to the underground manor. If you hung out with vampires then you should expect to come to harm.
The place was like a castle, stone walls, dim lighting and crusty old paintings and tapestries on the wall. Eddie pulled out the photo of Richie and screwed it up in his hand. Searching an underground castle could take hours so a little magic should speed things up a bit. He concentrated on locating the subject of the photo and then infused it with magic. He felt it warm in his fist but when he opened his hand the ashes of the photo fell to the floor. It was worth a try. He was hoping the ashes would lead him to Richie, but they did not move from the floor. Photos weren’t great tools for locator spells.
He wiped his hands free of the remaining ashes and then opened the nearest door. It led to a broom cupboard and Richie was not in it. He carried on down the hallway opening each door as he came to it. Thankfully all the rooms were empty of vampires so he remained uncaught, Unfortunately, the one vampire he was looking for was absent as well. Eddie opened what felt like the hundredth door of the night and found himself in a posh sitting room. On one side of the room sat two armchairs and one had an IV stand next to it. The stand held two bags, one of blood and the other of a clear yellow fluid. Cobra venom. Arthur had told him that Richie was being kept docile using venom. Richie had been in this room if the IV stand was here. There was another door in the far corner and Eddie headed for it. Before it reached it he heard the door behind him close and he stopped in his tracks. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He turned slowly, opening his eyes and saw a tall man standing by the door. He had dark hair, an obscenely pale face and a reptilian nose. His eyes were bright red. He smiled sadistically and Eddie resisted the urge to shiver.
“Ramsay, I presume?” he asked, holding his ground despite his nerves.
“What gave me away?” Ramsay asked, his voice offensive to the ear.
“The psychopathic look on your face combined with your ugliness,” Eddie said, recalling the description Arthur had given him on the way over here.
“Oh, you’re a mouthy one. Richie was mouthy too before I got my hands on him. I assume you are here for Richie?” Ramsay said, advancing slowly. Eddie did not back away. “If you’d arrived a few moments earlier you would have found him here. Sadly he’s gone for a rest. I do tire him out sometimes. I knew the Coven would send someone eventually. I expected someone more.”
“I’m not with the Coven,” Eddie lied. Arthur had been very explicit about saying that.
“Of course you’re not. You just want Richie for your own purposes,” replied Ramsay.
“He owes me a favour and I’d like to cash in,” Eddie lied again. He had to stop Ramsay before he got any closer. He flung a spell at the vampire but Ramsay darted out of the way and the spell hit the wall and fizzled out leaving an ugly scorch mark behind.
“I’m faster than the average vampire,” Ramsay said, behind Eddie now. Eddie turned and fired another spell. Ramsay moved again. This time before he could turn, Ramsay smacked Eddie in the side of the head. Eddie was knocked into the velvet sofa and then tumbled to the floor. The throbbing in his head faded with a little magical help, but Ramsay was already on top of him. He hauled him up off the floor and then held him dangling in the air, one cold hand wrapped around his throat. Eddie clawed at his hands, struggling to breath. He’d never felt such strength before. “I’m going to kill every sorcerer in this town. One by one, slowly and…” he stopped mid-sentence and turned his head to face the door. “More of your friends?”
Eddie was about to ask what he meant when the door burst open and several dark clothed men burst into the room, rifles pointed at Ramsay and Eddie. Ramsay dropped Eddie who fell to his knees on the hard stone floor. He gasped for air as he shuffled away from the vampire.
“Welcome, welcome!” Ramsay said, full of joy as the soldiers formed a line along the opposite side of the room. Half of the weapons were tra
ined on Ramsay, the other half on Eddie.
“Stand down or we’ll open fire,” warned a harsh-voiced female soldier. Ramsay laughed.
“Do you really think you can harm me?”
“I’ll stand down!” Eddie yelled. He knew they could harm him and he had no intention of being shot to death.
“Don’t be a coward,” hissed Ramsay. “Stand and fight. They’re humans. Nothing more than cattle.”
“Well these cattle have venom laced bullets,” the woman said. “Fire!” she yelled and every rifle in the room went off. Eddie threw his hand up, hoping that the bullets didn’t contain iron. Every bullet froze in the air and Eddie sighed in relief. A flick of his wrist and the bullets flew back to where they came from, right up the barrels of the rifles. The soldiers tried to fire again but they’re rifles were no longer functioning. Eddie fell back against the overturned sofa, victorious.
“You guys should really get out of…” he started, but Ramsay had no intention of offering them the chance to leave. In less than a minute he’d whipped along the line and every soldier in the room was lying dead in a pool of their own blood. “Good God,” said Eddie, marvelling at the carnage. Ramsay pulled something out of his pocket and then a shrill alarm was ringing throughout the manor. Ramsay must’ve been alerting the other vampires that they were under attack.
Eddie climbed slowly to his feet, looking for a way out before… Ramsay turned, his whole front splattered with blood and his red eyes locked on Eddie. “Your name?”
“Eddie Lancaster,” he replied. No point lying now.
“Well, Eddie. You just saved me from what looked like certain death,” said Ramsay. He shot across the room and the next thing Eddie knew he was pressed up against the wall, Ramsay’s face against his.
“This is a funny way too say thank you,” Eddie said, struggling against Ramsay’s strength. He thought about using magic, but if he wasn’t fast enough he’d be dead.
“You are going to leave this manor. You are going to leave this town. If I ever catch even the faintest whiff of you in Cedarstone again I will personally rip off your skin and feed it to you. Do you understand?” he whispered maliciously.
“I understand,” Eddie replied.
“Then go.” Ramsay released Eddie and stepped back. Eddie gave him a curt nod and then hurried from the room. His mission was failed but at least he was alive. He didn’t even care if Arthur didn’t pay him now. He just wanted out of Cedarstone and he was never going to come back.
Chapter 18
Arthur watched as the soldier-laden truck pulled up outside Morgan’s and then fifty or more soldiers piled into the nightclub. Arthur clutched his steering wheel, knuckles white as he deliberated over what to do. Should he help Eddie? He’d sent Eddie in there to distract Ramsay. If Eddie died now that was on him. Eddie could fight off Ramsay, but there was no way he could overpower iron-protected soldiers. What could Arthur do? Magic wouldn’t work and he wasn’t much of a fighter. No, he had to wait it out. Arthur sat and waited, hoping that everyone made it out safely. Minutes which seemed like hours passed with agonising slowness and several times he opened the car door but stopped just short of leaving the vehicle. Finally, the door to the club was smashed to smithereens and then Eddie cam hurtling out, red-faced and terrified. He didn’t pause once outside but charged sloppily over to the car where Arthur thrust open the passenger side door.
“The soldiers… Ramsay got them, though…” he gasped.
“What? What happened?” Arthur demanded.
“Soldiers came in… Ramsay killed them…he woke the others and went to find the rest,” Eddie explained. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes whilst he regained his breath. After a moment he reopened his eyes.
“Woke the others…” Arthur repeated, the blood rushing away from his head. The vampires would search the manor and find Dean and Kegan.
“What’s wrong with you?” Eddie demanded. “Go! Get out of here!”
“I can’t. I have to make sure they get out,” he said more to himself than to Eddie.
“Who?” he demanded. Then he saw. From round the back of the building two men emerged, Arthur could just make them out in the distance. Arthur let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against his seat. Dean led the charge, behind him was Kegan and over Kegan’s shoulder was the body of a man covered with a dark blanket. Dean was looking about and Arthur realised he couldn’t see the car. Arthur stuck his head out and yelled to him. Dean saw him and then led Kegan over.
Eddie turned to Arthur, his eyes narrowed and his face disgusted. “You used me as a decoy?”
“We needed to distract Ramsay,” Arthur explained. “And it’s not like you’re not being well compensated.”
“Well compensated… money’s no good if I’m dead!” Eddie screamed.
“The risk was the same either way,” said Arthur.
“The risk was the same? I nearly died. Do you understand…” Arthur did understand, but he really did not have the time to listen to Eddie berate him right now. He tapped him once on the forehead and Eddie fell asleep, collapsing against his seat.
As soon as Dean and Kegan piled in with whom Arthur assumed was Richie, Arthur hit the accelerator and sped out of the car park, victorious fear coursing through his veins. Dean and Kegan had walked to the club ahead of Arthur and Eddie. Had Arthur given them a lift then Eddie might have grown suspicious.
“We got him,” said Kegan proudly.
“He can see that,” Dean said before Arthur could reply.
“Did you have any trouble?” Arthur asked as he took a sharp corner.
“No, Jacob helped us out. If it wasn’t still light out he would have come with us,” said Dean. The last rays of light were falling in the sky now. The vampires would be able to come out soon.
“It’s better we have someone on the inside until Richie takes over again,” said Arthur.
When they got back to the house James was waiting outside looking anxious. He strode over to the car right away and yanked open the back door. “I heard you’d gone to the vampires,” he said, his worry easing when he saw that Dean was fine.
“I’m alright, Dad,” Dean said in a bored tone.
“Next time you go charging into danger like that invite me along,” said James.
Dean and Kegan lifted Richie, being careful to keep him covered and then headed to the house with him. James turned to Arthur, his expression unfriendly. “You let my son go in there with nothing but a werewolf for protection?” he demanded.
“We had vampires on the inside looking out for him,” said Arthur, although he hadn’t known that for certain.
“You don’t get to make decisions like that about my son,’ said James. “You don’t put his life in your hands.”
Arthur stared James right in the eye, his expression cold. “Now you know how you made me feel every time you took my daughter’s life in your hands,” said Arthur. “Dean makes his own decisions, I don’t decide what he does. Now stop moaning at me. If you want to do something useful take Eddie back to Maidstone.” Arthur didn’t wait for a reply. He walked straight into his house and left James by the car. He found Dean alone in the living room.
“Where’s Kegan and Richie?” he asked.
“Clara said to put Richie in the spare room upstairs. Apparently it’s got the least windows,” answered Dean. He was looking out the window, at his dad most likely. “Where did my Dad just take that man?”
“He took him home.” said Arthur. “Where is Clara?”
“She’s in town meeting Eloise,” Dean said slowly. He refused to meet Arthur’s gaze.
“You are fucking joking! I told her to wait for me!” he yelled. “And you knew this whole time!”
“She told me to keep it from you so you’d help rescue Richie,” Dean said quickly, taking several steps away from Arthur.
“Where are they meeting?”
“Town centre.”
“Get in the car. We need to get there before she
gets herself killed.”
Clara had chosen to meet on the High Street because she’d thought it would be crowded and Eloise would have a harder time killing her there. What she hadn’t factored into her plans was that the town was a barren wasteland and all the people were holed up in their homes waiting to be evacuated. She looked around at the closed shops. Doors locked, shutters down. There wasn’t a single person in sight, she half expected a tumbleweed to go rolling by. She looked up at the windows of the flats above the shops and a flicker of hope ignited in her heart. Faces peered down at her curiously. There were still people inside, this area hadn’t been evacuated yet. Would that be enough to help her, though? Perhaps. Eloise would be less likely to murder her in front of witnesses.
She saw the car approaching from the other end of the High Street, a black four-by-four. There were no military trucks or jeeps following it. Clara had expected Eloise to bring a small squad of soldiers even though the message Clara had sent specified for her to come alone. The car stopped and the front doors opened. Two soldiers dressed in black emerged in time with one another. One stood still, rifle in hand, watching Clara. The other turned and opened the rear door. Clara saw the black stilettos on the short chubby legs emerge first. Then the rest of Eloise Cultrum emerged. She wore a dark grey suit and her white hair was arranged in a back-beehive making her look ready for business. She turned her narrow eyes on Clara and approached, her lips pursed. The stilettos didn’t do much for her meagre height and Clara still stood half a foot taller.
“Miss Winters,” she said curtly. “I was surprised by your request to meet.”
“I said to come alone,” replied Clara, still watching the two soldiers who now flanked Eloise.
“Yes, you did, but I don’t take orders I give them and I certainly will not be told what to do by a witch such as yourself. Besides, you have magic, I think two soldiers can be afforded to me if only to even the odds,” she said, a small snide smile stuck on her face. It was the sort of smile that Clara wanted to rip off.