by Joe Fowler
Rosalyn gave me a smile as we got into bed. Josh was in the living area outside the bedroom where he would stay in case a human came along wanting to kill the two vampires. We didn’t speak anymore. We waited for the sun to come up so we could sleep.
Our next night in Paris started out with our same pattern. We drove to a new area and started our patrol. We found a few clumps of vampires but no real bad gatherings. We were going through an apartment building that we had seen several vamps run out of as we approached. We were going floor by floor when we passed a room that made us all shudder.
“What the hell is that?” I stated rubbing my arms to get rid of the chill. I could feel evil pouring from the apartment we were in front of.
“I have never felt anything like this.” Rosalyn took my hand as we slowly backed away from the door.
“I have. There wasn’t a chill last time but I know that feeling of evil.” Josh said in that really not helping my nerves spooky fricking voice of his. Josh knocked on the door. Both Rosalyn and I took a half step to stop him but we didn’t want to go any nearer to the apartment.
“What are you doing?” Rosalyn did a weird whisper scream.
We heard slow creaking steps approaching the door from the other side. Rosalyn and I backed away another step. Josh stood firm, sort of, since in his wolf form he was having to stay slightly stooped to keep from bumping his head on the ceiling. I was trying to remind myself that I was a badass vampire, but I was still scared.
An old woman opened the door. She was only a human by her smell. The evil was coming from deeper in the apartment. She looked at Josh’s huge monster form and barely batted an eye. She looked over at me and Rosalyn with contempt.
“What do you want?” She asked crankily. She spoke French so Rosalyn translated for Josh and me.
“There is a demon here.” Josh said. Well I felt a little more justified in being afraid now. I still didn’t know why we were knocking on the damn door though. If there is a demon here then let’s keep going.
“My grandchild is possessed. That is why I didn’t leave the city when they overrun it.” She gestured to Rosalyn and me when she said that in English so we didn’t need a translation.
“Let me see her.” Josh asked. He surprised us by returning to his human form.
“Why? What can you do for her?” The old lady asked. “You probably as evil as the demon. Why I let you in?”
“We are not evil. We are clearing the vampires from Paris. We did the same thing back home in the States. Our President sent us over to help Paris and some of the other cities that are in trouble.” Josh explained.
The old woman started to say something and did a double take. She smiled at us then and invited us all inside her apartment. I didn’t really want to go in but Rosalyn was holding my hand and she started following Josh as he entered. I had no choice.
“I remember seeing that. You come to help.” She was excited for a second but then her face fell as she remembered her grandchild. “You no can help Lena. She is possessed. This is not a vampire thing.”
“I don’t understand why, but I know I need to see her.” Josh sounded resolved. The old lady saw the resolve and consented.
“This way.” She led us to the girl’s bedroom. The evil feeling was so thick you could almost touch it.
She opened the door and the four of us crowded around Lena’s bed. She appeared to be around fourteen years old. When the girl saw us she sneered until she looked at Josh. Her eyes grew huge as she was clearly afraid. She was tied to the bed which was a good thing. She began kicking violently and trying to get away from him. That’s when things got weird.
All of a sudden, Lena went stiff as a board. Josh became unresponsive at the same time. Their eyes were locked on each other. I became aware of movement in the room even though nothing was. Terrible growling sounds started and were joined by crashing baubles as some knick-knacks flew into the wall. The nightstand shattered as if something really huge had landed on it. Scratch marks appeared on the walls behind us. Then finally there was a long horrible wailing sound that filled the room. Rosalyn, the old woman, and I looked around the room in fear. As the dying cry faded, Josh and the girl snapped out of their stupor.
“What the hell was that?” Rosalyn beat me to the question.
“I told you when we first met that I was half demon. My wolf and my demon bonded within me, that’s why I look so different when I turn. Since demons are territorial my demon wolf pulled the demon out of the girl and attacked it.” Josh staggered a bit. I grabbed him and helped him to a chair. “I didn’t know that would happen. I only knew that I had to see her. Now I know it is a good thing. Exhausting, but good.”
“Gra-mere?” Lena spoke in a weak voice.
“I am here child. Everything will be okay now.” Rosalyn translated the old woman’s words when she responded to Lena. We looked at each other and knew we should leave the room. I helped Josh as he was still very weak.
The old woman was crying when she came back in the room with us. She kissed Josh on the cheek and thanked him for saving her grandchild. I felt a little shaken and out of place. Rosalyn appeared to share my feelings.
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked.
“I need my bag. I won’t be able to fight anymore tonight. I need food too, so if you could, grab something on your way back for me.” Josh looked pretty beat.
“We will be right back.” Rosalyn assured him as we left.
“Holy shit! Did we really see that?” I asked Rosalyn as we left the building.
“I am still in shock. I haven’t processed it all yet.” Rosalyn sounded like I felt.
We darted back to the SUV and got our bags. We ran across a couple of vampires and killed them without slowing down. The rest of the trip was about finding food for Josh. We found a store and loaded up anything that looked good. We knew how much he ate when he wasn’t fatigued, this might be the meal to end all meals. If we hadn’t been vampires, we would have struggled to carry all the food we brought back with us. We figured the old woman and the girl could use what was left anyway.
Josh got dressed as the lady cooked for him. He munched on snack foods while he waited. He still didn’t look like he wanted to talk so we let him rest. We sat and waited patiently. Or at least I tried to.
I was getting hungry and there were no stores with what I needed. After some discussion, the old woman was feeling grateful enough for saving Lena that she agreed to let me have some blood. We took all the precautions we could. I was able to stop on my own again. It made me feel much better but I still worried. I would never forgive myself for that old couple that died because of me.
The old woman’s cooking must have helped Josh. He looked a little more like himself after his fifth plateful. The lady had been in and out of the girl’s bedroom. Lena needed food as bad as Josh. Rosalyn and I were very glad to see Josh okay so he could explain more about what happened.
“So, did you cast out the demon? Is that what we heard?” Rosalyn asked.
“I killed it. A priest can cast one out but not kill it. My wolf basically reached into her and pulled the demon out. They fought for a moment or two but he was not very powerful and possessing a human makes them weak anyway.” Josh spoke like it wasn’t a big deal. If that wasn’t a big deal then what the friggin hell would be?
“I thought you needed to avoid demons because they could possess you and live forever or something.” I recalled vaguely.
“That was about full demons having been summoned whole. When they possess a human they are not at full strength and they tire quickly. This was a minor demon to begin with. Even whole he would not have been a match for me. Only the top few demons, like my father was, could pose a threat to me now.” Josh looked around tiredly. “We need to find an empty apartment and get your room ready. I can’t fight anymore tonight anyway. We can get some extra rest. Does that sound good?”
“I like it.” I said honestly. I really didn’t like Paris so far.
We said goodbye to the old lady and found an apartment that had been abandoned. Rosalyn said the owners must be dead since we could enter. They didn’t have to be home to keep us out but if they died, their hold over the space went away. Josh would need us to be on watch until dawn since vampires would follow his scent if they ran across it. We readied the room against sunlight and waited for the sun.
Chapter 18
Josh was fully recovered when Rosalyn and I woke. He had scouted around the area killing the vampires he found. He had actually lucked out and found a huge nest. He killed over two hundred as they slept making our jobs much easier. He was in good spirits as we left the apartment to start our next patrol.
“I called Seth while you guys were asleep. He said that the wolves in Italy and Spain had finally joined in the fight. They are leading the daytime hunts in Rome and Madrid. So hopefully we won’t have to go to those cities now. That is a bit of a relief.” Josh’ words brought hope to me as well. This might be over soon.
“Did you tell him about the possessed girl?” Rosalyn asked.
“Yep. He was as shocked as we were. There is a chance I might have to do that a lot more often now. The President was listening since Seth had put us on speaker. The President said the Vatican should know what happened and that I could help in those cases in the future.” Josh didn’t sound overly happy about it.
“Wow. Hey, after this is over, Alicia could travel with you on those trips. It could be a fun way for you two to spend time together.” Rosalyn suggested.
“I hadn’t thought of that. I like it and I bet she would too.” Josh seemed excited.
He didn’t get to think too hard about it. We had driven to a new area and were looking at a large horde of vampires. We parked and got started with the killing. It went much as expected except for the few who ran at the end. Josh chased them down before they could get far. We headed in the direction the vampires were running. It seemed logical for them to be running to their friends.
We did right. There might have been as many as three hundred here. I thought back to the boring patrols of the last few days when there were only twenty or so at a time. We wouldn’t be bored tonight. After some time fighting I realized the vampires were still coming in huge numbers. We should have thinned them out by now.
“Where are they all coming from?” I asked.
“I can’t tell but hey, bring ‘em on. This way we don’t have to search for them anymore.” Josh was ok with it.
We kept fighting and they kept coming. I could see that the three of us were getting farther and farther apart. I would try to move closer only to be driven back by another wave of vampires. I was about to say something when I noticed four vampires standing on a balcony of one of the buildings. I became distracted and had to scramble to keep from losing my own head. When I was back in control I opened my mouth to speak but was whooshed away by a vampire.
He had the wrist of my knife hand secured with one hand and his other around my waist carrying me away from the fight. I wish I had thought to call out for Rosalyn or Josh but I was too shocked for cohesive thought. I gathered myself to really look at my situation and saw a way. I used my free arm to push his head in the way of a wall jutting out from the building we were zooming past. At the speed we were traveling, his head mostly disintegrated on impact. I cut off the rest to be sure he would not rise again.
I looked around trying to orient myself but I was completely lost. The vampire had ran at incredible speeds making turns at seemingly random places. I called out but knew even with their senses, Josh and Rosalyn were too far away to hear. I quit calling when I was attacked. It started out with a bunch of weak vampires but they were getting faster and stronger as they came. It was like someone was testing me to see what I could and could not handle. Finally they stopped before it got to be more than I could take. I was about to try and find my friends when a single vampire strolled out of a hidden doorway.
“So you are the vampire Austin who fought to keep our existence secret. I would say it is good to meet you but I really don’t care.” He was very hard to understand because of his really thick accent.
“So, we going to talk or are we going to fight?” I cut to the point.
He smiled and darted toward me. I was able to avoid his attack, barely. He blocked my counter with ease. He then proceeded to kick my ass thoroughly up and down whatever street we were on. I should have been dead by now but he was toying with me. He walked slowly to where I lay bleeding.
“I think you Americans should have stayed at ho-” A large block of what looked like marble hit him on the head driving him to his knees. I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed my knife from where it had fallen and took his head before he could recover.
I looked up to find my savior. A young woman was hanging out a window waving for me to come up to her place. I counted the floors and saw she was on the fourth level. I sped up the stairs to thank her. She opened her door but did not invite me in.
“You are one of the Americans?” She asked. She was at most sixteen years old. I saw a small boy, maybe four years old, hiding behind a chair.
“Yes. My name is Austin. Thank you for your help. He was going to kill me.” I said, wondering what had become of this girl’s parents.
“Are you the only one? I thought there were more coming.” She sounded scared.
“They separated me from my friends. There are three of us.” Her face fell when I said that. “Believe me, the other two with me are almost unstoppable. They could clear all of the vampires from Paris without my help.”
“I hope they are as strong as you say. We have been hiding here since the vampires first attacked. They keep trying to lure us out but we know better. I go out only in daytime to find food for us.” She must have been through hell.
“We don’t know how long it will be before we can get the city cleansed enough for the people to return. What can I do for you until then?” I asked, wanting to ease her burden anyway that I could.
“I don’t know. We have been so scared and I don’t know what to do. My parents disappeared the first night.” She was crying now. Like any normal man, I panicked for a moment until I got an idea.
“Write down your address. I am not completely sure I could find this place again. I will have a car come to take you somewhere safe during daylight hours tomorrow if I can. It might take two days to arrange but I will see if I can have them here tomorrow. Would that help?” My question was answered by her hug.
She ran into the kitchen and quickly wrote her address down for me. I left her with hope if nothing else. I still had to somehow find my way back to Rosalyn and Josh, then see if we could get a car here the way I said. I left her building and stood there for a moment trying to orient myself.
“Smell!” I yelled to no one at all. I found the remains of the vampire who brought me here and familiarized myself with his scent. I followed the scent back the way we had come. I arrived back to where I left Josh and Rosalyn only to see them gone. I followed the body trail but it ended without any sign or smell of them going further in that direction. I retraced my steps and our smell to where we had left the car. The car was gone. I smelled around but their scents had only gone from the fight area to the SUV. Oh shit.
So what do you do when you are lost in Paris? I climbed the tallest building and searched in every direction from the roof. I looked for the SUV but the surrounding buildings blocked my view from the nearby streets. I went back to where we parked but I lost the scent of the car after a hundred feet. I guess even we can’t follow a car by scent alone in a place where thousands of vehicles had passed before. I darted from street to street before I feared getting lost even worse. My last resort seemed to be going back to the teenager’s apartment and seeing if I could call the U.S. and get a message passed through to Josh and Rosalyn.
“Why are you back? I thought you were going to find your friends.” The girl was getting worried.
“I couldn’t find them. We were fighting a
large group of vampires when I was carried away. When I returned there, my friends had moved on. The car we used is gone. They could be anywhere in Paris by now.” I admitted.
“No. How do we get help now?” She had tears forming again.
“Do you have a phone?” I wasn’t at all sure how to get in touch with anyone but I had to give it a try.
“It is not working. I tried to call for help but there is no signal.” Her tears were falling again, damn it.
“What is your name?” I asked in my most soothing tone.
“Beth.” She sobbed.
“Like I said before, my name is Austin. I promise you and your brother will be okay. I will make sure of it. I am going to go find a phone and I will come back as soon as I am able.” I hoped she believed me.
I left her door to go down the stairs. I was thinking of where I could find a phone. I ran up the street in the opposite direction from where I had been. I darted here and there trying pay phones when I found them. They were dead. Why had the phones quit working? The electricity was still on. The water still worked. I was pondering this when I was attacked.
I heard them approaching in time to defend myself. They were muttering such treats as ‘American scum’ and ‘traitor’. There were only ten of them and they weren’t old, so I made short work of them.
I was cleaning my knife when the next group rounded the corner. One of them was talking on a cell phone. Yes! I attacked them hoping to finish them and use the cell phone to call for help. The one on the phone was being defended by an ever increasing number of vampires. I was getting more and more frustrated as I cut my way through them only to find more blocking my way. I became so focused on getting to the phone that I missed the vamp sneaking up from behind. I got the tiniest moment of alert before I would have died. I ducked the blow meant to decapitate me, but the move put me off balance. The others attacked even more viciously sensing my vulnerability. I was struck several times but kept my feet somehow. I knew falling to the ground would be the death of me. Slowly, I retook the upper hand in the fighting. Even in these slow motion attacks, I could only make so many moves before they would get through. If even one of them had my kind of speed, I would be a goner. When I was killing the last few of the ones attacking, the one on the phone took off running the way he had come.