by C. J. Pinard
∞∞∞
Portland, Oregon – Present Day
Malina appeared in the apartment via portal after Thomas called her. “Hi, guys. What’s up?”
Thomas grabbed her by the hand and led her to the computer. “Take a look at this.”
She sucked in a breath as her hand over her mouth when she saw Seth’s and Malachi’s Alcatraz mug shots. “Oh my. Well, that certainly answers that question, doesn’t it?” She shook her head. “Will you print that for me, please? We don’t have computers on the island.”
“Sure,” Kathryn replied, clicking the mouse.
Malina stood on her tiptoes and gave her fiancé a long, soft kiss on the mouth then waved her arm in the air and disappeared through her magical doorway.
Jonathan swallowed the last of his scotch and put his glass in the sink. “Tom, we need to get ready to go. We’ve got that stakeout tonight with Agent Swift.”
Thomas smiled. “Oh yeah, can’t wait.”
Jonathan looked at Kathryn and said, “Two things. One, print me one of those. Two, do you want to come?”
She shrugged without taking her eyes off the laptop, wildly clicking the mouse. “Sure. What or who are you staking out?”
“We’re going to Pascal’s house to see what his little entourage of bloodsuckers are up to. Jason seems to believe Pascal’s found a way of creating vampires who can resist the sun, but I don’t believe it for one minute. It’s going to be a long stakeout. We’re going to Night Crawlers first, then we are going back tomorrow to see if any of the leeches can walk around in the sun.”
She replied, “How about I go tonight, but not tomorrow? I should stay and keep an eye on the building tomorrow. Still don’t trust them after they breached us last time with Vampire Steve and that whole mess.”
Tyler piped up. “I actually have to get back to the hospital and finish my shift, but I would love to come with y’all tomorrow, if that’s okay?”
“Most definitely. We’ll be at the gym first thing, though. Can you make it?”
Tyler smiled. “Wouldn’t miss it, boss.”
A few hours later, Kathryn, Thomas, Jonathan, along with Jason Swift, were walking through the back door of Night Crawlers.
“They don’t say anything when you guys just walk through the back door like this?” Jason asked.
“No, they know we know about this entrance, and we had problems with the human bouncers last time we were here,” Jonathan replied.
Jason looked confused. “What kind of problems?”
“The kind where we kicked their asses,” Jonathan smirked.
Jason snorted. “Ah, I can see why you aren’t popular here, then.”
The group of vampires were in the balcony as usual, with Pascal in his big chair, Angel sitting on his lap. He was talking to Brandon when Mike nudged him. “Cops at ten o’clock,” he said, jutting his chin toward the dance floor. Pascal, Mike, and Brandon watched as the Immortals made their way to the bar.
“What kind of cops are those? The girl is kinda hot,” Brandon said.
“Those are the Immortals. They work for the Council, and they’re all bloody arseholes,” Pascal said.
“Yeah, and watch out for the dark-haired guy, he’s really fast and can move in a blink,” Mike added.
Brandon turned his head. “You’re joking.”
Mike laughed. “Nope. And the tall blondish guy, he is very strong, like freakishly strong.”
Brandon cracked his knuckles. “I could take him.”
Angel giggled. “Now that, I would like to see.”
“The girl, she can read minds. So be careful around her,” Pascal warned.
“Who are these people? The Avengers? They all have superpowers or what?” Brandon didn’t believe a word of it.
“Sort of, they each get a superpower, as you put it, when they get their dose of Enchantment. It’s a potion the sylphs from the Council make for them. They all used to be normal humans like us. They are all very old, though,” Mike said.
Bryan had heard the conversation and came to stand next to Brandon. “Who’s the other light-haired guy?” he asked, pointing.
“Dunno, never seen that one before. Probably a new recruit. Maybe they are training him. Better be on alert, guys,” Mike said.
“Go down there and see what they want,” Pascal ordered to Mike. “But don’t piss them off,” he added.
“Yes, boss.” He turned and looked at Brandon and Bryan. “You two, come with me.”
They trailed Mike as he descended the staircase and crossed the dance floor, which was pulsating with sweaty, drunk humans and a few vampires, dancing and laughing.
Mike approached the bar where the four were standing. “Can we help you gentlemen?”
“Mike is it?” Thomas asked.
“Yeah. Is there a problem, officers?” Mike asked facetiously as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Funny. No, no problem, just having a drink and showing our friend here your club,” Thomas replied, pointing to Jason.
“Jason Swift, nice to meet you,” he said, putting his hand out to Mike.
Mike looked at it and grunted, ignoring his proffered hand.
Jason withdrew it and put it awkwardly in his pants pocket.
Wow, what a dick, Kathryn heard Jason think. She giggled a little bit then looked away, pretending to cough.
“Is there anything you need? Have we done something?” Mike continued.
“No, like I said, just having a drink. Pay us no mind,” Thomas replied.
Jonathan looked over at a feeding vampire and pointed. “On second thought, if you don’t do something about that, I will.”
Mike looked over to the female vampire, who was straddling a young man in a plush chair in the dark corner of the bar. Her mouth was at his neck and his eyes were rolled back, his mouth, slack. Mike swore and stomped over to the couple. Brandon and Bryan were left standing there.
“You two vampires?” Jason asked them, pointing.
Brandon snorted. “Yeah, so?”
“Well I was just wondering because I thought I saw you the other day,” Jason said, looking directly at Brandon.
“Saw me where?”
“Downtown, you work in an ambulance, don’t you? I saw you loading a car accident victim into one.”
“Again, so?” Brandon replied, tipping his head back and finishing his drink.
Bryan was watching the banter curiously but said nothing.
Pascal was also watching from the balcony.
Jonathan went to grab Jason’s arm to stop the inquisition, but Kathryn pulled him back and shook her head. She knew where this was going. He nodded and backed off.
“Well, it was two o’clock in the afternoon, and it was an unusually sunny day for Portland.” Jason fixed Brandon with a serious stare. Jason now had his arms folded in front of him.
Now, Brandon knew he was not supposed to tell anyone he was a vampire, but from the earlier conversation, it was clear these weren’t normal people. He had never been instructed on whether or not his sun-resistant quality was a secret or not, but he got the feeling Pascal wouldn’t like it.
“Musta been someone else then,” he replied coolly.
Jason nodded. “I see. Well I guess I was mistaken. You can run along now.”
Jonathan chuckled.
Just then, Mike returned. “If you need anything, we’ll be right up there,” he said, looking at Jonathan, then motioning for the two vampires to follow.
The three turned on their heels and headed toward the staircase. When they got to the top, Brandon’s fists were balled and he told Pascal, “That Jason guy is an ass.”
“Who was he? New Immortal?” Pascal asked, fingering a loose strand of hair behind his ear.
“No, he’s completely human,” Mike replied. “The Immortals have a different smell.”
Pascal looked deep in thought. “Huh. I wonder who he is then. Maybe a relative of one of them.”
Angel scoffed. “Highly
doubt they have any living relatives left. They’re all hella old.”
“This is true.”
Jonathan was watching them. “C’mon, I’ve seen enough. We’re definitely doing that stakeout tomorrow.”
“Why bother? That Brandon guy was lying,” Kathryn said.
“The paramedic? His name is Brandon?” Jason asked. “How do you know that?”
Kathryn tapped her temple with her pink fingernail. “You’d be surprised how people think in their brain. They often speak to themselves in the third person. Especially when they’re narcissistic like that jerk. It’s quite entertaining,” she grinned.
“He was lying?” Thomas asked.
“Yup. And he was panicking, but thought he did a good job lying. He was afraid telling you he wasn’t affected by the sun would displease Pascal.” She paused. “Oh – and he has it bad for Angel.”
“Ew,” Jonathan said.
Jason looked up at the balcony and dipped his head toward the vampires. “That chick up there with the skunk striped hair?”
Kathryn laughed. “Yeah.”
“She’s not so bad. What guy doesn’t like a blonde with big boobs?”
Kathryn rolled her eyes. “Let’s get out of here. Too many sweaty humans.”
They set their empty glasses on the bar and exited through the back.
CHAPTER 14
∞∞∞
Salem, Oregon – 1902
Pascal stared at the body of a young girl on the ground outside the saloon. He looked around quickly then dragged her body behind a trash receptacle. He had long since cared about keeping humans alive while feeding. Sometimes he did, but more often than not, he took what he needed and if they survived – good for them. If they didn’t – no skin off his back. Today he was absolutely ravenous and had drained the poor young girl and was still hungry, but figured she would have to do for now.
He went back into the saloon and took the hallway back to the lobby of the hotel, making his way to the stairwell and up to his room. He coolly regarded the hotel owner on his way up, who eyed him curiously but nodded a curt hello as he passed.
He was weary from his travels and decided to stay two days in Salem before embarking on his adventure to Gold Camp.
He had slept for almost two days straight. He checked his pocket watch after sleeping like the dead and saw it was five p.m. He had laid some blankets over the windows so he could sleep peacefully without worrying about the sun.
After a shower, he meandered downstairs and asked old man Nelson if he could get word to Henry Silver to get him to the hotel.
“Oh yeah. Ol’ Henry came lookin’ for ya last night but I hadn’t seen you come down yet. He waited for a couple a hours but then he ended up leavin’,” the hotel owner said.
At Pascal’s silent stare, Paul continued. “He said he would come back again tonight.”
“Very well,” Pascal replied, pulling out a roll of bills and handing the man three of them. “I’m checking out. Have Henry fetch my bags when he gets here. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting in the saloon.”
The hotel owner shook his head at Pascal’s retreating figure and continued cleaning up the dirty supper dishes.
Pascal was fortunate enough to find the old timers at their usual spot in the saloon and decided to sit next to them again. He did not order any drinks this time, and hoped none of the humans would notice or give him any grief about it.
“How did your dig go today?” one asked the older storyteller from the other night.
The old guy took a swig of beer and set his mug down. “It went great, I got about three good bags a nuggets. Meetin’ with a merchant next week.”
The old timers talked about gold mining for only about five minutes when Pascal saw Henry walk in.
“Mr. Thee-row, I have your carriage waiting outside,” he said, motioning toward the door.
Pascal stood. “Hello, Henry. I apologize for my absence last night. I was apparently more tired than I realized. I slept long and hard.”
Henry smiled. “Pay it no mind, sir. I am just happy you are among the land of the living this evening.”
Pascal smirked. “Indeed.”
As Pascal stepped in the carriage, he asked, “Did you retrieve my belongings?”
“Yes, sir. Tied to the back. Now, where are we off to?”
“Gold camp.”
Henry was leaning on the edge of the carriage door, about to close it. His brow furrowed in worry. “I’m not sure I know where that is, Mr. Thee-row.”
Pascal pulled out a map. “It’s here,” he answered, pointing to the southern end of the state.
“Oh my, so we are going to be gone for quite a few days, then?”
“Yes, Henry.”
Henry removed his cap and scratched his head. “It seems I will be needing to pack us some supplies, and I will need to let my family know I’ll be gone for a few days.”
Pascal shook his head. “We don’t have time, we need to make as much time while it’s night. I have my own food and we can get something for you on the way.”
He forgot the damn human would need to eat, use the bathroom, et cetera, which annoyed Pascal. This is why he hated relying on him. He briefly considered feeding on Henry, dumping his body, and just driving the damn carriage himself, but quickly dismissed that idea, realizing he’d lose tons of precious travel hours by having to hide out during the day. This way, he could use the covering of the carriage while Henry drove during the day.
Henry looked worried. “Sir, my home is on the way out of town, it won’t take but five minutes for me to stop in for supplies and to say goodbye to my wife and children.”
Pascal blew out an overly exaggerated breath. “Very well.”
Henry smiled, relieved, and went up to the driver’s seat and the two started on their way to Gold Camp.
∞∞∞
Portland, Oregon – Present Day
The white van was parked up the street from Pascal’s vampire lair on Mockingbird. Thomas, Jonathan, Tyler, and Jason Swift were sitting inside, watching the home. They had been sitting for about an hour with no action or movement from the house whatsoever. Jonathan grabbed his duffel bag from the back of the van and pulled out a folder and handed a photo to Jason.
“Two escaped convicts from Alcatraz from a hundred years ago… why do I care about this?” Jason asked, looking at the photograph.
“Because they’re still alive,” Jonathan replied.
Jason looked at him incredulously. “I’m listening.”
“Those two are shapeshifters that we currently have incarcerated at one of our facilities. They admitted to us they are Roe and Cole. They shifted into sea animals to facilitate their escape from the island.”
Jason flicked the photo. “You know what? I think I read some scribblings about this in my great-grandfather’s notes. He obviously didn’t come right out and say anything about shifters, but he did have notes about these particular convicts. It said their bodies were never found and how impossible it was to survive swimming during that time of year in the dangerous and freezing San Francisco Bay waters.”
“It’s true,” Tyler said. “A normal human’s body temp would have dropped too low to survive in the water for any length of time.”
“Maybe a boat picked them up?” Jason mused.
Thomas grinned. “Don’t bother. It’s them, trust us. We know these shifters – Seth and Malachi are what they go by now – very well. When we pulled up the photos of Cole and Roe from the Internet, we knew immediately it was them.”
“We just thought you’d like to put it in the records at the BSI. It would sure make Adam Swift proud if you closed the case on them,” Jonathan said.
Jason smiled. “Yes, it would. May I keep this? I’ll type up a report when I get back to the office.”
“Of course,” Jonathan said.
Changing the subject, Thomas pointed toward the vampires’ house and remarked, “They’ve fixed up the place.”
“Y
ou’re tellin’ me. It looks like a completely different house now,” Jonathan said.
Jason looked confused as he went to bite into his tuna sandwich. “What do you mean?”
“The last time we were here, the house was a dilapidated mess. Yard was full of weeds, the porch was about to cave in, and it desperately needed paint,” Jonathan answered.
“Yeah, when I was here a few weeks ago, I saw them fixing it up,” Jason replied after he swallowed.
Thomas took a swig from a bottle of flavored iced tea then looked at Jason. “What do you mean? Why were you here?”
“I had followed one of those vampires home from the club a few months back. I found out he lived here, and figured, where there’s one, there’s probably more. I know they like to all live together, like a colony of rats. There were some people out here fixing up the house in the middle of the day. I couldn’t believe it. I came here to spy on them in the daylight knowing – or thinking – they’d be sleeping and I could check out the house. I didn’t expect workers to be out front, and that’s when I spotted the guy from the club the night before – the paramedic. He was out here painting the trim. I had just literally watched him feed inside Night Crawlers the night before. I didn’t know if he was maybe some vampire wannabe or maybe I had the wrong guy, but after last night, it’s definitely him.”
“If Pascal has truly created vampires who can resist the sun, we’re going to have to tell the Council. I have no idea how to handle this, or if he’s even broken any rules. I don’t think anything like this is in the Treaty,” Jonathan replied.
Jason wiped his mouth and pointed toward the house. “Look, here comes someone.”
They saw a pretty, young girl exiting the front door. She had hot pink hair and black gothic makeup on, a black shirt with the letters “YOLO” in pink on the front. A few random tattoos peppered her body. She rubbed two fingers along her neck and pulled them away and looked at them, then wiped them on her black schoolgirl skirt.