by Megan Hawke
"You're not funny, Black Heart!"
"I wasn't joking."
"I'm going to kill you, and then Valerie and I will make love in your ashes," he said.
His voice came from just beyond the wall to my right. I aimed both pistols at the point I heard his heart beating. A heart full of silver was what the doctor ordered.
"Ew," I said. "Not very romantic, are you?"
I started pulling the trigger. Jeff grunted, then started shooting back. Three bullets hit me: left calf, left forearm and below my right boob. A second later he crashed through the wall and charged me with a wild scream of pure rage.
Diving to the side, I tried to keep shooting him. Jeff was too fast even for my lightning reflexes. He threw his pistol into my face. I fell back and he was on me before I opened my eyes.
"I'm going to rip you to pieces," he cried, snatching me up by the hair and hurling me against the stone fireplace. Somewhere along the way I lost both pistols. He picked up the poker and smashed it upside my head, then kicked me in the chin so hard I flipped completely over.
"You'll have to do better than that," I whispered hoarsely. I barely knew up from down, left from right, but false bravado always seemed like a good idea. "You kick like a girl."
"Don't worry, I have worse," Jeff said, chuckling.
"So do I," I said, grabbing the fireplace shovel and leaping to my feet. I ducked under the poker he swung at my head, and slapped the shovel into his right ear. "Ouch, that had to hurt."
I kicked him in the nuts, with extreme prejudice. Then I hit him with the shovel. I thought I had him, but Jeff jabbed the poker so hard into my belly it went clean through me. Then he ripped it back out. That left an even bigger hole.
"Aaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!" I cried, falling away.
I ran. Jeff found my lost pistols. Both of them. I know because he started shooting them at me. Got hit twice more. Right and left butt cheeks. I know. Embarrassing.
Jeff was following. I could barely run with my butt shot up. Panic started to set in. Nothing was going as I had expected. I've always done so well against Jeff. Not doing so well then.
"Heidi! Get your ass in here! Now!" I cried. "I'm in trouble!"
Jeff hesitated. That allowed me to put some distance between us. I found myself in the kitchen, kneeling behind the large island. Did I mention it was a gourmet kitchen? Very impressive.
"Ben is dead and staked," I called. "They probably have his heart in a jar by now."
"I don't care," Jeff said. "He was Valerie's friend. He was an idiot, and I planned to dispose of him after I dealt with you."
"With friends like you. . . ," I said.
"Yep. One might think I was evil or something," Jeff said, stalking carefully through the penthouse.
Can't lie. His caution pleased me. Too often my threat wasn't taken seriously by other, older vampires.
"That's why you are going to die," I said. "I warned you about messing with me and mine. You went after my parents. Bad move, Jeff. Now I have to kill you."
I collected an assortment of butcher knives and meat cleavers. The katana was still strapped to my back, but I always felt better with more weapons. I made a lot of noise getting my collection together. I wanted Jeff to think about being sliced and diced. Get the boy nervous, you know.
"Your overconfidence will be your undoing," Jeff said.
He was just outside of the kitchen. I was trapped. There was only one way in and out. I picked up a meat cleaver and prepared to hurl it at him.
"Probably," I said. "Not tonight."
"I beg to differ," he said.
"Beg all you want, sissy boy," I said.
Oh, that pissed him off. I heard his heart rate ramp up. He growled and came around the corner shooting. I threw the cleaver. Jeff sidestepped the cleaver, but both of my pistols ran out of ammo and the sliders locked back.
I threw a really big butcher knife. And continue to throw one blade after another as Jeff zigzagged towards me. Needless to say I missed on every throw.
Jeff leapt over the kitchen island, and I ducked under him. He hit the cabinet behind me as I turned to run. The old vampire was in more control of his body than I thought, and reached out and grabbed my left ankle. He jerked me off my feet even as he hit the floor.
"That's no way to treat a lady!" I cried, kicking at him with my other foot.
Jeff surged to his feet, dragging my foot up with him. I found myself almost upside down, just my head and shoulders touching the floor. And he started kicking me. Hard. Hard and fast. The pain was exquisite, and unceasing. In short order I was limp and groaning.
"Not so tough without use of your wings, are you?" Jeff said. "Honey, I've been kicking vamp butt for over a hundred years. There's no way some upstart is taking me out."
"Wanna bet?" I managed to say.
"Yeah," Jeff said, and tossed my foot away and made me flip over on my face. Before I realized the danger, he reached down and pulled the Katana out and plunged it between my shoulder blades, through my heart and deep into the floor below. "There, consider yourself nailed to the floor!"
"Aaagghh," I cried.
Jeff knelt beside my head and forced my face around to see him. It was getting too close to snapping my neck. Yeah, I was starting to get worried.
"You look good down there, nailed to the floor, writhing in agony," Jeff said. "Makes me hot. Mind if I nail the ole poop chute?"
"I'm going to nail your butt to the floor," I groaned out.
Jeff laughed and stood up. I tried grabbing his ankle, but he jumped back. And laughed again. I hated the sound of his laughter.
He picked up the kitchen phone and started making calls. He called every member of the vampire council. He called a meeting for that night. To discuss me. Hmm, didn't like the sound of that either.
Apparently, there was more than one "council chamber." Jeff asked them all to go to the SMU council chamber. Imagine my pleasure to hear my alma mater had its very own vampire council hall. How sweet is that? If I ever found out who at the university allowed that to happen, I would bite them.
"Don't go anywhere, Black Heart," Jeff said, heading out of the kitchen. "I have to go dress for council."
I lay face down on the hardwood floor of that penthouse kitchen, clawing at the floors and groaning. The pain seemed to increase as time wore on. The blade especially hurt, going through my heart. The bullet in the liver wasn't too pleasant either. I felt them all intensely, like little suns burning me inside out.
I struggled to regain control of my senses. Being burned with holy fire wasn't conducive to rational thought. But I came up with an idea, and tried it.
Pushing up, I lifted by body off the floor. The feel of that silver cased blade sliding through my heart just sucked the breath away. The katana's round guard stopped me. Then with my back pressed hard against the guard, I pushed with all my might against that guard.
The sword slid up a bit. I got my feet under me, and pushed harder. Despite myself, I screamed from the sheer agony of it. But I kept pushing, harder and harder. Then the blade finally came out of the floor and I flipped right over onto my back. That drove the hilt harder into me, but I didn't care. I was almost free.
The glowing blade was protruding rudely between my boobs, just to the left of center. I pressed the tip against the granite countertop edge, and pushed. A low, pained groan escaped my lips.
I listened to Jeff preparing in the next room. He was continuing his phone calls. When he spoke to Valerie it confirmed my suspicion that she escaped. He told her to get dressed to the nines, because she belonged to him now. She was a member of his vamp family, so would stand behind him at council. And, he knew, she would enjoy watching him decapitate me in front of the council.
"Meet me at the SMU council chamber," Jeff said. "I think I have time to play with my food before the council meets."
Jeff started towards me. He was only halfway across the penthouse. He would be back in a few minutes, at most.
Wit
h the sword's tip just pushed back inside me, the skin instantly healed over. The katana was still sticking in me, through my heart, from behind. So I turned around and got the guard hooked on the kitchen sink spigot, and pulled myself off the sword.
Jeff started cussing up a storm when that sword went clattering on the floor behind me. I let out a deep breath of relief. I was still loaded down with silver, but what a relief it was to have the sword out of me. I felt like a new woman.
Grabbing the hilt, I leapt over the island and charged the kitchen's entrance. I met Jeff there, and tried to skewer him. He slapped the blade aside and punched me in the ribs. Bone broke. Pain erupted and I cried out.
I try to be stoic and all, but when it hurts I grunt and groan and cry out like a little girl. Really, it's kinda embarrassing. But I kept my head, spun left, and sliced deep into his belly. Jeff backhanded me, sending me spinning into a wood paneled library.
"Are you a glutton for punishment?" Jeff asked, and punched me in the face.
The force of that blow sent me stumbling back into some shelves. Books rained down upon me. I saw Jeff reach out and surge toward me.
"Ha!" I cried, thrusting the sword deep into his belly.
Jeff didn't act as if anything happened. He was better with the pain. I was too focused on impaling him, and not enough on his hands. He seized my throat in both hands, thrusting his thumbs into and crushing my windpipe. All I could do was struggle and make strangled, gargling sounds.
"Remember this move?" Jeff said, and brought his knee up between my legs. He kneed me over and over, pounding my will to smithereens. "Let's see how well you fly without your wings."
Jeff grabbed me, and started running me towards the floor to ceiling window. He threw me with all his considerable supernatural strength, and I crashed through that safety glass. With silver bullets inside my body, I couldn't morph or sprout wings. All I could do was fall.
I'm sure it was a big boom when I hit the roof of that Mercedes Benz. I caved in the roof. Spread eagle. Face down. Yeah, the lights went out for me.
Jeff woke me up when he pulled me out of the caved-in roof, by my hair. Very rude. Then he thrust the sword back into me, just above my naval.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Jeff said. He held the sword in my belly, using his left hand to lift my chin so I had to look into his smirking face. "Enjoy it. This is pleasure compared to what you'll endure once I send you to Hell."
"Being this close to you is the worst sort of Hell," I said. I grabbed his shoulders. He braced himself, probably expecting me to try and flip him. Not my plan. Instead, I lifted my feet and planted them on his thighs. Then I snapped my legs straight, sending myself flying away. I thought he'd hang onto the sword, and thus pull it out of me. I was wrong. Jeff let go. "Idiot. Now I have the sword."
Down on one knee, I quickly pulled the sword out. The pain subsided almost immediately. Jeff surged at me before it was all gone. He wasn't playing games anymore. Neither was I.
I dodged left and lashed out with the sword. Jeff received a nasty cut on the right side of his neck. I cut about a third of the way through. That had to be worrisome.
"I was going to grant you a swift death, Black Heart," Jeff snarled. He snarled good. I bet he practiced that. "Not anymore. Your death will be slow and bloody and excruciating."
"What? I’m going to have to see you naked again? Ack! Mercy!" I cried, and grinned at him. Jeff was not amused. "Come and get me, sissy boy."
He growled low in the throat and surged at me. I jumped up and over him, landing just a foot behind him. I thrust the sword deep into his back, through his heart. But his surge pulled him right back off the sword.
"Jesus, I wasn't expecting that," I said. "Lucky you. Get to live one more minute."
"And then some," Jeff said, and threw a fist-sized rock at me. Hit me right between the eyes. "Now die!"
Disconcerted and confused, I swung the sword in a sweep. Jeff must've surged at me, as expected, and I caught him. He started cussing like a spited whore. I spun away and took a fighting stance.
"I'm going to fry your head for this!" Jeff wailed, holding out his right stump. Yeah, I took off his arm just above the elbow.
No hesitation. I charged in. Jeff cried out in fury and charged me. Dropping low, I tried to sweep away his feet, but he leaped over me. I rose up and spun. Leading with the sword, which he batted aside with his stump, I surprised him by following with a vicious roundhouse to the head.
As a mortal, I could've never performed such a physically demanding move. Sometimes I liked being undead. That was one of those times.
Jeff spun around and dropped to his knees. I stepped up, pulled the katana back for a decapitating blow. And Jeff turned and pointed a pistol at me. BOOM! Right in the heart.
"Ugh!" I cried, and swept the sword around as hot tears filled my eyes. I felt and heard the meaty thunk of sword slicing through meat and bone. A spray of hot blood hit me. I turned and stepped way before wiping the blood from my eyes. The sight I beheld brought a grim smile to my face. "I told you I'd kill you."
Yeah, Jeff finally lost his head.
There were no witnesses to the fight. The only one downstairs was the doorman, and he was still mesmerized. So I went to work. I didn't have much time to get to SMU.
After using the sword to carve the silver bullets out of my body, I was able to use my wings again. I immediately flew Jeff's headless body away, and dumped it in a semi-hidden location, with a good south-eastern exposure. Then I grabbed his head and flew away, heading northward towards SMU.
I circled the university, high above. Watching and waiting. Tara showed up first, followed by Yuan Kwang and Otis Glenn. A few minutes later Antoinette arrived with Vanessa and their combined families. It was another fifteen minutes before Rod Huff and Tan Nguyen arrived, only for their entourages to pause at the entrance and glare at each other. The Russian Viktor Vasilevich arrived with Henry Moonwalker.
With them all assembled, I descended. I wasn't real sure what I was going to say and do, but I had to get it through their thick skulls that to mess with me is to sign your death warrant. Vampires understood threats and power.
Valerie St. Clair arrived just before I hit ground. She wore a scarlet evening gown, quite in-your-face daring, and dripping in diamonds and rubies. That girl cleaned up good, and she did it fast. I was feeling a little bedraggled and jealous.
Landing, I looked around suspiciously. I didn’t trust them. I didn't sense anyone lurking in the shadows, so went inside. Before going over, I had visited the penthouse to retrieve my pistols. I didn’t have any ammo, but I liked the feel and weight of them on my hips. The vamps wouldn't know they were empty. The sword was strapped across my back again. But my clothes were in tatters. The black latex halter top, though, had amazingly survived intact. My pants, not so lucky. And I loved those low-rider latex pants.
The underground facility was beneath the arts building, called Aristotle House. The steel door in back had a yellow and black sign, "Authorized Personnel Only." It was unlocked, and I went through. No guards. Anyone foolish enough to enter at that time would be passed around as snacks.
I was impressed. Everything was quite luxurious. It wasn't the Spartan facility I met Council in before. There were marble floors and antique furniture, crystal chandeliers of silver and gold. I followed the sounds of muted voices, passed through a set of black-lacquered double doors and into a large round room. Once again, they were arrayed in a circle. They kept the same positions, and the elaborate chairs council sat upon were different from the other place. As before, the council members' "family" stood behind them.
A collective gasp filled the air when I strode in.
"You!" Tara snarled. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? I'm here to deliver a message from Jeff Howell," I said, and held up his dripping head. "He says don't mess with Sable."
Got another gasp. I smiled. It was going better than expected. Everyone was shocked, except Antoinette. The sexy French
vamp stood up and held a hand out to me.
"Come to me, Sable. Tonight I finally claim you," she said. Her erotic power slammed into me. I grunted, almost fell to my knees as my body flamed up with insatiable need and desire. My breasts and nether regions tingled, and an erotic heat began deep in my belly. I so wanted to obey her, to go to her and get the orgasm I so desperately wanted and needed. "Submit! I command you."
"No!" I cried, staggered, but reached down and pulled a Glock 31 and aimed at Antoinette's head. "Stop it, or I'll shoot."
"You wouldn't dare," she sneered.
"That's what Jeff thought."
She glanced at Jeff's head and wavered.
"Enough!" Tara commanded. "Antoinette, cease and desist! None of us want to feel your power at this time. And you, Black Heart, put that pathetic gun away."
"Pathetic? But these sanctified silver bullets are backed up by a keen-edged sword and my really cranky mood," I said.
Antoinette sat back down, glaring at Tara. She released us all from her power, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Her awesome power always engulfed the room, and consumed everyone around her. I don't think her undead peers appreciated her manipulating them so easily.
"Smart move," I said to Antoinette.
"You will be mine, Sable," she said, eyes narrowing.
"You mean, like Vanessa is subjugated by you?" I said.
"What!?!" multiple voices cried.
"You didn't know?" I said, smiling grimly. "Antoinette used her power and Bone Daddy's dick to seduce and capture Vanessa at the big Wild On."
Vanessa, in her metallic red halter top and matching pants just sat upon her throne, a shocked look on her face. She didn't want to be outed any more than Antoinette. Subjugation meant losing her seat in council.
"You'll pay for that," Antoinette said. She stood up and stared defiantly at the rest of council. "Vanessa! Attend me!" Vanessa didn't hesitate. She stood up sensuously and walked over to stand behind Antoinette. "Yes, I took her. She belongs to me now. There's nothing any of you can do about it."
"With friends like Antoinette. . . ," I said, letting them think on that.