The Chronicles of a Vampire Hunter (Book 1): Red Ashes

by Justin A. Moore

  The hand yanked and I felt the ethereal wind around me speed by faster and faster until I was lost completely in the inky black. My head swam and I struggled to breathe so that I could scream again. The hand that grabbed me let go and disappeared, and I floated in a familiar void. In front of me, yet somehow simultaneously inside of me, a pair of beautiful and frightening red-green eyes opened and pierced into me once again. Haughty female laughter echoed around me, and I felt as exposed and ashamed as a naked, lost child. My fear grew as the laugh turned into whispers and synced closer and closer together until they became one cohesive voice chanting over and over.

  “Turn back, John. Turn back, John. Turn back, John. He is ours, and you will be too.”

  The eyes closed and silence fell, but a feeling of malice was tangible around me. I heard distant chanting start again, and suddenly I was falling. I was falling faster and faster, and at once I could see the ground below me, illuminated by a pale green ring of light. I flailed as the ground rushed up to meet me, and I saw the neighborhood that I had left my body in right before my vision went dark.

  My body shook violently and my eyes shot open as I struggled to regain control of myself. There was a wooden spoon stuck between my teeth, and I had worn rough grooves deep into the handle, almost splitting it. Lily, Hazel and Cassie had my limbs pinned to the floor—their faces were masks of horrified confusion. I spit out the spoon and stretched my jaw until it popped, and then raised an eyebrow at them. “This isn’t awkward at all,” I grunted, trying for cavalier. “What happened?”

  “Oh, thank god,” Lily said and fell backwards onto her behind, resting her hands in her lap. Cassie leaned in towards me and looked me over, and then released me and nodded to Hazel. Hazel followed suit by petting me like a wounded animal.

  “Oh sweetie, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.” She said, deepening my confusion.

  “Didn’t know what?”

  She cocked her head and looked me over again. “There is another witch nearby. I didn’t know until I felt you pull away. You broke contact with us and became lost. It’s a miracle you found your way back to your body.”

  “Another witch? Why does that make a difference?” I asked. My head throbbed dully, and I felt in desperate need of an aspirin. I said as much, and Cassie rushed out of the room on that errand.

  “Normally it wouldn’t, except she was looking for you. We glowed like a beacon when the ritual started, and she doubtless traced my aura back to us, and through me found you.”

  “That green light? Yeah, I saw it.”

  “How clearly?” Hazel asked, her eyes suddenly wide as a look of horror fell over her face.

  “Uh, pretty clear,” I said. “Perfectly fine actually, but it wasn’t like I was trying to see it or anything. I thought it was normal.”

  “It’s not. Lily probably didn’t see a thing. Lily?”

  She shook her head, and I noticed she appeared to be in shock from the experience. I doubted that shock could kill a vampire, or even if it was possible for a vampire to go into shock, so for the moment I didn’t worry about it.

  Hazel nodded and held my hands in hers, pulling me up into the sitting position. “I want you to focus your power for a moment, and yes it may be important. Witches auras are different, and can be sensed only by another practitioner of the Art. Even your uncle can’t truly see my aura, though he can sense the power of my craft. Go ahead and focus.”

  I did as she asked, and I felt my energy swell as if it were trying to escape. It was different from before in that it took almost no effort, and I could feel myself teetering on the verge of losing control for just a moment before I secured the grip of my will on it. Instantly Hazel erupted with twisting layers of green light that moved like snakes around her. Each ribbon of light ran to something in the house, like the little sachets in each corner of the room, into every pentacle, it even mingled with the incense in a beautiful dance of the real and intangible. It was also almost unbearably bright; almost as overwhelming as my uncle’s aura had been the first time I’d seen it.

  “Can you see it, John?”

  “Yeah, mind if I shut this down? You’re hurting my eyes,” I said, squinting.

  “By all means, go ahead,” Hazel said and then proceeded to chew on her nails while staring at me for a moment before speaking again after I’d suppressed my power, and the twisting nimbus of her aura faded away again. “Your mother must have been a witch, or your power has evolved beyond what we’ve seen in the past, which are the only explanations I can think of. Anyone can learn the Craft and develop witch’s abilities with enough practice and knowledge. Some are born with an innate affinity for it to varying degrees. I can’t be sure if it was inborn or if you acquired it somehow.” Cassie walked in with a tea that smelled like boiled tree bark. I accepted it and took a sip, and predictably it tasted like boiled tree bark. But it made my tongue go slightly numb, and my headache faded rapidly.

  “I wouldn’t know; I never had a chance to meet my parents,” I said.

  “Oh, you poor dear.” Hazel said, laying a hand on my face for a moment.

  “Hard to feel upset over some people you’ve never met.” I said, smiling awkwardly.

  “Nonetheless, I wish I would have known so I could have avoided this mess.”

  “That’s not how I remember it. I felt like I had been pulled away.” I said, shuddering from the recent and horrifying memory.

  “Pulled away? Impossible… that’s not the way such rituals work, you couldn’t have been pulled away. I could be wrong about all of this…what do you remember?”

  “Spikes of red light shot through me and then wrapped around me, and I felt them pull at me. I may have panicked and let go, but I didn’t mean to.”

  Hazel considered this for a moment and stood up, pacing back and forth through the room. Cassie’s eyes followed Hazel through the room, and Lily seemed to be slowly getting a hold of herself. Neither of them paid much attention to Lily, so I stood and walked over to her and sat down, not quite touching her. I felt like my proximity would help her somewhat.

  “It must have been Thanatos, or maybe a mortal in his employ. They must have tracked you down and assaulted you psychically until you panicked and retreated from us.”

  “Sounds about right.” I said. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s not your fault, darling. What else can you remember?”

  “Well, I remember that the light turned into a hand and jerked me into a different void, like the first time I consciously summoned up my powers. Then there were these gigantic green eyes with tinges of red looking at me, and a woman’s voice told me to turn back,” I shrugged. “And then I woke up.”

  Hazel’s expression instantly became one of horror. “Oh my goodness, there’s a witch or wizard hunting you. One possessed of extreme power to seize control of your astral body like that. We need to be careful of this person—for if they work for Thanatos, they may already know our plans.”

  “It doesn’t matter if we can’t find my uncle.” I said, feeling somewhat downtrodden beneath the desensitized and numb layer that had been growing since I left my uncle behind. It was almost like the planets were aligning to keep me from finding him. Hazel’s small but sudden smile surprised me.

  “Oh, we know roughly where he is. Just before you broke away, we had tracked your uncle to a very popular night club. Popular for vampires, I mean. It’s a sort of sanctuary where vampires of every stripe can mingle and not fear the dangers of inter-clan politics. I couldn’t get an exact fix, but I will give you a little something to help with that.”

  “I thought I couldn’t track him?” I said, and she turned on her heel and beckoned for me to follow her. I gave Cassie a meaningful look and gestured to Lily, and Cassie nodded to me as I stood and followed Hazel.

  Hazel led me into a back room much like a large pantry that was filled with jars and bags of curious substances. She plucked an empty leather pouch from a bunch that were hanging from a nail in the wall
and pulled it open, scanning the shelves for something.

  “You may have the natural gift, so you don’t need to waste time training yourself to accept magic and exercise gross control. Of course, fine control will be a bit of a problem, but for this it shouldn’t be an issue. If I’m right, you should be able to use this.” She said and plucked a large jar of black dirt from a shelf and opened it. The smell that came from the jar was that of mold and wet earth. She turned the jar, dumping a portion of the contents into the leather pouch and handed it to me.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “You know the general location, but not exactly where. This will help with narrowing your search.” Hazel replied, screwing the lid back onto the jar and placing it back on the shelf.

  “Some dirt is going to help me find my uncle?” I asked, feeling skeptical.

  “It’s graveyard dust; taken from the grave of an executed criminal. It’s fairly hard to come by.” She nudged me back out of the pantry and closed the door. I felt like there was something unsettling about holding a pouch of graveyard dirt.

  “Take a pinch of dirt, and focus your aura through it. While you do this, think only of your uncle, and beckon the dust to lead you to him. Be careful to not become distracted, or the magic you are working will become confused and be for naught.” Hazel said. “Try it out.”

  I sighed and opened the pouch, pulling out a pinch of the course damp grit. I closed my eyes and focused my aura without drawing more power. My aura coursed around the dirt in my fingers, and slowly infused with it until it too glowed with my living power. When the dirt shone brightly in my mind, I began to focus on my uncle. I could swear I saw him—sitting alone in the dark, surrounded by skittering, hostile shadows, his clothes torn and his countenance full of grime and dried blood. I thought I saw him look up and stare me right in the face. I gasped and dropped the pinch of dirt, willing it to go to him.

  I opened my eyes, and the glowing dirt swirled slowly through the air, and drifted lazily to the floor where each grain rolled over the floor until it gathered in a small pile at the northwest wall of the room, after which it lost its glow. Hazel squealed with excitement and threw her arms around my neck from behind, almost jostling the pouch from my hands.

  “Brilliant! Just brilliant! Oh, my boy, I was wrong about your potential. You could be so much more!” She exclaimed, her voice rapidly climbing in octaves. I grunted in reply and tapped her arms. “Oh, sorry.” She said as she regained her composure and released me. I shared in some of her excitement, of course, but in my mind I had just seen, whether it had been real or imagined, that my uncle was in very dire straits.

  “We can worry about my potential later.” I said, and tugged the pouch closed and put it in a jacket pocket.

  “Yes, absolutely. You and Lily should go as soon as possible, then.” Hazel said, seeming somewhat distracted. “But you know you can’t kill all those vampires alone. Do you have a plan?”

  “My plan was to just wing it, but I think I’ve got some things in storage that will help,” I said. “I just want to find him tonight, and then I’ll get him tomorrow. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Just don’t get carried away with your power, John. Strong as you are, you won’t be able to stand toe-to-toe with Thanatos; hunters older and stronger than you have tried.” She said, giving me a look of concern. I turned and walked back into the living room where I saw Lily sitting on the couch talking spiritedly with Cassie. I guess it didn’t take long for her to bounce back from the shock of the ritual. I shouldn’t have been surprised—it didn’t take long for me either.

  “Alright you two birds, I guess you’re set.” Cassie said, giving me a nod and a wink. I chuckled and shook my head.

  “Yeah, we should be good to go. Lily?”

  “I’m fine, just a little blowback from the ritual. I’m ready when you are.” She said.

  “Please be careful you two. Don’t let him do anything crazy like his uncle, please.” Hazel said, giving Lily a meaningful look. Lily nodded back.

  “Walk into a hive of vampires older than dirt with unknown numbers in order to save my uncle against supposedly impossible odds? Nothing crazy about that.” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Cassie stood and punched me playfully in the shoulder.

  “You know what she meant.” She said and then suddenly hugged me tight. “Be careful John, those vampires won’t fuck around. Something happens; you get the hell out and give me a call. I’ll find a way to help.” She whispered up into my ear.

  “Sure.” I whispered back into her hair and gave her an awkward pat on the back. It was comforting to have her offer her help if I needed it, but I was doggedly determined not to ask for it right now; I felt like it would be a betrayal to Hazel if I did. Cassie gave me a final squeeze and let me go. Lily was already standing at the door.

  “See you later.” I said as I left and Lily followed, closing the door behind her. We walked to the car and Lily got in the driver’s seat again. I sighed, thinking that the “who gets to drive” argument wasn’t one worth having with her. I got into the passenger’s side and pulled my seatbelt on. Lily smiled at me.

  “What did you think?” She asked.

  “Pretty cute, all in all, but I don’t really go for older women.” I said, grinning back.

  Lily let out a melodramatic gasp and then rolled her eyes. “You men are such pigs!” She mocked, and then started the Charger. It roared to life and she drove towards the bright and towering San Diego skyline.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Parking was hell, as usual. Lily compelled the parking lot attendant into believing she had paid him. I felt a little guilty about it, but my wallet wasn’t exactly brimming with cash due to the exactly zero ATM stops I’d made. And of course, she carried nothing but a colorful assortment of credit cards which made her refusal to pay all the more immoral. They were all in her name, which I found puzzling. I tried to calculate four hundred years of compounded interest as we walked through the thronging masses of people that came out for the San Diego night life.

  Lily knew the club that we were looking for. It wasn’t marked by the typical neon sign that adorned most of the high-class overpriced clubs that people typically frequented. In fact, there was no sign at all that would distinguish it from the rest of the buildings, nor was there a front entrance. Lily led me through downtown until we reached a narrow alleyway that lacked the stagnant urine and dry vomit smell that most of the alleys around here possessed, and also had even less by means of lighting. The building itself was innocuous, squat, and grey brick. If I had walked by it at any other time, my eyes would have moved over it without stopping, dismissing it at a glance. I’d have thought it was just a semi-abandoned office building or apartment complex—nothing to see here.

  At the back of the alley there was a man standing next to a nondescript wooden door, the aged white paint peeling from it in long curling leaves. The man himself looked like the stereotypical bouncer; dark, rakish hair, muscles bulging from every inch of exposed skin. His shirt and jeans were black, and the front of his shirt had “SECURITY” printed in large white letters. The man looked Lily and I over briefly, and his eyes enlarged in shock as he examined me. I smiled kindly, knowing he was a vampire. I could all but smell the stink of blood wafting off of him. Lily, not missing a beat, walked up and placed a hand on his chest and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “His kind aren’t welcome here, Lil,” The bouncer said.

  “He’ll play by the rules, handsome,” Lily said, her voice was saccharine and saturated with exaggerated seductiveness. I was impressed, to be honest. I’d had some females try something similar with me when I was in the Corps when they wanted to get out of some unpleasant task. The bouncer wasn’t buying it, which I admired as an afterthought. He turned to me and snarled, showing me a wicked double set of razor-sharp fangs.

  “You’re not welcome here, hunter. This is a place of safety from your kind.” He spat the last word like it was something r
otten that had somehow crawled into his mouth. My smile widened.

  “Safety is inside, right?” I asked, taking a step closer. “What about right out here?”

  The vampire’s jaw dropped as I took the last two steps between us in a blink, pushing Lily out of the way and in the same motion punching him solidly in the throat. He reeled back, gagging and clutching at his neck. He felt different from Thanatic vampires, whose skin tended to slide around over cords of flexible muscle and sinew. The throat of this vampire felt hard, as if made of something stronger than normal flesh, and there was none of the sickly-satisfying crunch of cartilage breaking. I knew I only had a moment before he regained his composure, so I pressed the assault.

  He held up his hands as I rained fists onto him, targeting only the “soft” spots of his body. Without using my power, I knew if I hit him in the jaw, shoulder or elbow, my hand would suffer more damage than it dealt. He outweighed me by probably forty pounds, but I didn’t slow the rhythm of my blows. I missed the side of his neck as he tried to roll away from me on the ground and hit his nose. I felt the cartilage in his nose crumble horribly as pain lanced through my hand and up into my elbow. “Damn.” I thought, and hoped I didn’t break my knuckles; I’d probably need them inside. The vampire whimpered and I switched from my hands to kicking him in the ribs and stomach that were left unprotected as he guarded his face. I braced myself against the grey brick wall as I kicked him against it, stopping only after I’d heard several of his ribs give out. My uncle wasn’t kidding; most vampires were nowhere near as strong as Thanatic vampires, but they had different “perks.” I mentally thanked the stars that he wasn’t as old as Lily, but then, a door guard probably wouldn’t be.