The reason for my fury was sitting across the table from me looking adorable in a Sandman comic T-shirt.
“You are NOT staying. I’m throwing you out on your ass. I will NOT be responsible for you dying.” Guns clattered on the table as my fist pounded home my words.
Eyes flashing, Tiff leaned in, pointing her finger at me. “I AM staying and you are not ‘throwing’ my ass anywhere.” Standing to her feet, she leaned over the table. “I am in this and that is the way it is. I didn’t ask for it, but I have made my choice and THAT is final.”
She was pissed at me, but fuck her, I was pissed at her right back. I liked her, but that did not make me any less angry. This girl was not a warrior. She needed to go away for her own safety and I didn’t have time to argue with her about it.
Leaning in, my voice was very quiet. Not a whisper, but low. I don’t yell much when I am angry. I yell to make a point because it is very effective. Raising my voice tends to make people listen. When you hear me begin to speak lower and lower, then take notice. That is the sound of the storm gathering.
“Listen to me very carefully, little girl. In about an hour, hundreds of vampires are going to come knocking on this door, led by the most powerful hell-bitch on earth. You have no idea the death and destruction that they will bring with them.” Both of us were leaning over the table staring eye-to-eye. Even pissed I noticed how blue they were, bright cerulean with ice pale streaks through the irises.
Longinus was done unwrapping himself. Bundling the webbing up into a ball, he tossed it into a trash can. “Deacon, now is not the time. If the girl wants to fight perhaps—”
I rounded on him. “Shut up, Longinus.” Anger boiled in my blood, primed to erupt, and Longinus had put himself directly in the line of fire. Three steps brought me face-to-face with him. Heat washed over my neck. I knew I was red as he gave me calm eyes.
My finger pounded into his sternum, hitting the hard breastbone, driving in my point. He backed up a step. “It’s all fine and good for you to talk about letting people fight. You are fucking immortal. Nobody else here has that luxury, least of all her.” He took another step back and I pushed his chest again. Stepping forward, I stayed close to him.
“Everybody else dies. If she stays, not only will she die, but she will get someone else killed protecting her.” My finger swung out to point at Tiff. “She is NOT a fighter.” Leaning back, I threw my hands in the air. “Fuck it. I should lock you in here with Appollonia and her brood. This is your damn fight anyway. You started it all; you should finish it instead of any of my people getting hurt or dying.”
From the corner of my eye Kat stood up and held her hand out. “Deacon ...” Her voice was questioning, entreating.
My finger shot out in her direction, cutting off her voice before it could finish. “Sit down and be quiet, Kat. You were told to get her the hell out of here on the phone and you didn’t get it done.” A small hand touched my shoulder. The skin was cool against the fever of my anger. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Tiff standing there. Big blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. The heat in my face and head drained away at the sight of her. I did not move when her hand slid around me and her cheek pressed into my back.
“I don’t want to get anyone killed because of me, Deacon.” Turning, I lifted my arm over her head. Moving in front of me, she looked up at me with her arms still around my chest. “Just let me help you and I will leave when the time comes.” She pushed her face against my chest, snuggling into me. “I want to help you if I can. That’s all. Even if you can’t find something for me to do, then let me stay as long as I can and I will leave before trouble gets here. I promise.”
I was beaten and I knew it. My deep breath came out as a sigh. Gently tousling her blue–black hair, I knew I was making a mistake. “You are a lousy liar, little girl.” She smiled and I felt it against my chest.
“Am not,” she said very softly.
Father Mulcahy came into the room holding a pile of clothes. His coffee cup was balanced on them along with his pack of Kools. Sitting the coffee on the table, he handed the clothes to Longinus and sat in a chair. A fresh cigarette flared to life from the tip of the one in his mouth. Switching them, he snubbed the old one out in the saucer under his cup.
Longinus stepped outside to change. I’m sure he would like a shower, but we didn’t have the time. The priest’s scarred eyebrow raised sardonically, he stared at me and Tiff. I had untangled our embrace when he entered the room, but we still stood close enough to touch.
“So what is the plan, son?” Cigarette smoke streamed from his nostrils. I stood in front of them all, studying them, weighing them in my mind.
Father Mulcahy smoked his cigarette, impassive. He was in the fight. That knowledge was an absolute certainty. The amount of times he had fought by my side had proven that. Reliable and not afraid to die, the truest thing about Father Mulcahy is that he would play clean up also. If I ask him to stand outside and burn the building to the ground with me in it, he would. He had no sentimentality when it came to fighting evil.
Blond hair hung over Kat’s eyes. She was looking at her feet. I know she felt bad for not getting Tiff out like she was told, but she was a good soldier. Maybe not the strongest in direct confrontation, but a good soldier nonetheless. She was loyal as a pit bull and a good shot, but I hoped I could get her out of the line of fire.
Larson was a different man from the one I met just last night. The things he had faced and especially the rescue of his family had burned away some of the softness in him. He still had next to no combat experience, but I could see in the set of his shoulders and the glint in his eyes that he would stand with me. He had made his choice and he would lay down his life if I demanded it. Too bad for him it looked as if I was going to have to.
Charlotte sat daintily in her chair. The coffee was done and she had a nice color back in her face as she looked at me. Delicate in appearance, like your friend’s mom who was nice to you, but she was a powerful lycanthrope. The strongest and fastest in the room, she was the only one who could match a vampire without an equalizer. She would be a hell of an ally as long as we could keep a cross around her neck to stop Appollonia from controlling her.
Longinus stepped back into the room, he was wearing a pair of my black BDU pants. Thinner than I am, but just as tall, they were a good choice because of their adjustable waistband. His shirt was one of Father Mulcahy’s without the white tab in the roman collar. It was a tight fit, but he was dressed now. I did not recognize the shoes on his feet, so they were probably the priest’s. Now that he was healed, thanks to Charlotte’s blood, he would make a good soldier. Being immortal had its advantages. He was the only one here who had no choice tonight; he was going to fight.
That left Tiff. She would be nothing but a liability in the fight, and I did not want to see anything happen to her. I would get her out of the way before the vampires got here. Maybe I could convince Kat that she needed to get Tiff well away. I know, I know, call me a caveman all you want, but I feel the need to protect the women. If I didn’t know just how powerful Charlotte was, I would’ve put her on the list to protect too. I can’t help it, it is how I was raised.
But looking around the room, I knew we would not escape this unscathed. In fact, the only one who might live would be Longinus, and that was only because he was immortal. Death is not too high a price to pay to stop evil. Possessing the Spear of Destiny made Appollonia a real threat to humanity. Tonight, though, if we were willing to pay the price, we had a chance to put an end to her. If we failed and she gathered even more power and vampires enthralled to her, then there would be no stopping her.
“The plan is that we have to get as many of Appollonia’s vampires and herself in the club here. Once they are in the trap, we lock them in and unleash hell on their asses. We hold the line here and kill them as they come.”
Larson raised his hand. “Will she come in here? Wouldn’t she see the trap and back out?”
“Even if
she sees the trap, she will come.” Charlotte stood and walked her cup over to the sink. “Her pride has been hurt by Deacon. He resisted her charms and he freed her captives—”
“Don’t forget, I flipped her off too. That had to sting.”
Charlotte gave me a look for interrupting her; apparently she did not find that funny. I couldn’t help myself, though. With a sigh, she continued, “She feels herself invincible, a goddess to be worshipped, not refused and mocked. Her arrogance will drive her to us, and she will believe that she will kill us no matter what we do to fight.”
It was good to have my thoughts confirmed. Father Mulcahy got up to refill his coffee and dump the ashes and butts from his saucer. As he was filling his cup, he asked, “So we are bringing them inside the club? This building will only hold about two hundred, three at the most. They won’t all fit.”
“Maybe.” I had thought of this. “But it is the most secure building we have access to. We can lock them in with us and do what we have to with no worry about the neighbors catching stray bullets.”
The lighter in his hand flared against the end of his cigarette; his eyes did the same on the other side of the filter. “They won’t all fit.” His voice was harsh, barking the words out. “If they do not all come inside and we do manage to kill the bitch holding their leashes, we will leave our neighbors to deal with many angry vampires who will be uncontrolled.”
“She does not feed them enough.” Charlotte looked at me with fear in her eyes. “If we free them from her control without killing them, they will massacre anyone in the area. They will be crazed with bloodthirst.”
I wasn’t angry. Really I wasn’t, but we did not have time to do anything else. Out of options and almost out of time, I put force behind my words. “Look, I understand the problem, but we have to do what we have to do. This is our only option, and Appollonia is the priority. We have zero time and no other building.”
Everybody was quiet. Father Mulcahy was the only one who looked at me instead of the floor. His eyes were hard as flint. From behind me a soft voice piped up.
“Um, actually, that isn’t true.”
I turned to see Tiff with her hand raised slightly and her eyes turned down to the floor. I realized what she was saying. “You have the keys to Helletog?”
Tiff was really cute when she looked sheepish. Nodding, she fished in her purse. When her hand came out it was holding a set of keys on a skull key ring. “When you told me to leave I locked up and hung a CLOSED FOR REMODELING sign on the main doors. If you killed Gregorios, then the building will be empty and unused.”
“It is on that big open parking lot in the industrial part of the city. No one around for a few miles,” Larson added.
“How many exits does the place have?” I asked.
Her head tilted to the side, blue–black hair sliding over her neck as she thought. “There’s the main doors, the fire exit in the back of the main room, and the band load-in doors. But I have the key to them all, and they are all made of steel.”
Empty building on an asphalt lot, limited access with lockable steel doors, and a large open room to fight in. Plus, it was right off the highway, so if we led them there it would minimize any chance of them spilling into any residential areas. I glanced at my watch. It was 3:21 A.M. We had about thirty minutes before the vampires got here, if not less. It was now or never.
“Okay, that’s the new plan. We have to hustle. Everybody grab the weapons you want. All silver bullets and tracer rounds. We’ll go over the ins and outs of what we are doing on the ride over. Kat, you need to get an incendiary for the gas main. Father Mulcahy, once you are done, grab your holy gear, we are going to need it.” I looked at my watch. “Five minutes and we are gone.”
Everybody began to move, following orders, the new folks taking the lead of Kat and Father Mulcahy. I walked over to the door leading to the back of the club. “I’ll be right back, I need to get something from the garage.”
Scar tissue masquerading as an eyebrow raised in question, Father Mulcahy looked at me. “Are you going for the flamethrower?”
“Not with us inside the building. We’re not that desperate. Not yet.” A smile shot out in spite of our grim circumstances. “I’m going to get Gertrude.”
22
Laden with equipment, one by one, we all filed into the club. It was a big open room. As a dance club, it was a big floor space with lights hung over it, speakers stacked along the walls, and two bars on each end of the room for patrons to buy alcohol. We hauled the equipment in and began to unpack while Tiff located and turned on the lights.
Kat had found the gas main to the building. In her bundle she had an incendiary designed to blow the building to splinters and use the gas line to feed the fire. It would kill every vampire in the building. The good thing about Atlanta is that even if the building currently used only electricity to heat itself, there was still a gas line from the old system and it would just be capped at the main on the building, which meant that there was a pipeline full of natural gas attached to the building that had a safety blowback valve that would stop an explosion from getting in the system. It would provide more than enough accelerant to destroy the building but still be fairly safe for the surrounding buildings.
The lights came on while I was looking for Tiff. I climbed up the steps to the light and sound booth. Turning from the light board to come join us, she almost bumped into me. I smiled at her little girly exclamation and her blush.
“We need to talk.”
Nervousness climbed her features. She leaned back on the sound console and I stepped up to stand next to her. Small white teeth trapped her full lower lip in a pout and her eyes cut to the side, avoiding my gaze. “I know what you are going to say.”
“Doesn’t matter. I still need to say it again.” She nodded at this. I reached out and touched her arm. “Listen, once we are set here, you and Kat are going to the car and going to a safe watching distance. You are to stay with her.”
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “What will stop me from coming back in here to help?”
My goatee slid through my hands, bristly and thick. It was shot through with enough silver to make me look menacing. I stroke it sometimes when I am thinking. Or when I am annoyed. “Kat will. And you will be no help in here. You stick to the plan like you promised.”
“But you will be in here fighting for your life!” She grabbed my shirt in her fists. “I can’t stay outside while that happens.”
“You can and you will.” I cupped her chin and made her look at me. The bones of her face felt fragile and delicate in my rough fingers. “If you come in here, you will get me killed. The only way I can fight without distraction is if I know you are safe. You follow the plan.”
My hand stroked the smooth skin along her face. “Besides, if we fall here today, I need you and Kat to contact others who do what I do. She’ll know what to do, but I need you to help her do it. Others will have to know about Appollonia to save humanity.” Her hair was soft on my hand. Silky and light, it flowed over my fingers. “Can you do that for me?”
Tiff nodded, her eyes glistening. Small hands moved up to my face. Fingers caressed my lips and her palm slid over my cheek. Grabbing my head, she pulled my face to hers. Soft, full lips crushed against mine and parted eagerly. The kiss was fierce and heated. She rose up into it, really putting forth an effort.
The thrill of her touch washed over me and I kissed her back passionately. One arm slid behind her and my other hand moved to cup the back of her neck. Thick hair tangled in my fingers and I pulled it tight, swallowing the moan it brought to her throat. Her hands came up to my chest, breaking the warm line of contact between us. Pushing back, she looked me in the eye through her tears.
“Don’t you DARE get killed on me.” Her voice was muffled with swallowed passion, thick with lust but fierce. “You come back to me.” With that she pushed past me and ran down the stairs. I watched her go join the group who were setting things up.
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Damn women.
Turning to the soundboard, I flipped the switch to bring the power on. Red and green lights flicked to life and the whole unit emitted a dull hum. Next to the board was a rack of CDs. Looking them over, I saw that it was crap on top of crap. Finally at the bottom I found a three-disc set of Rob Zombie’s Voodoo Blues.
Rob Zombie was good fighting music. He never feels the need to have a ballad on his CDs, so it is pure aggression from start to finish. Voodoo Blues is a great album of old blues songs remixed into Rob Zombie’s industrial rock style. He sampled recordings of old bluesmen and digitized all the instruments they played like the slide guitar and the harmonica. Playing the music would also make the club look like it was open if anyone drove by and would help mask the sound of gunfire. And I expected there to be a lot of gunfire tonight.
Pushing Random and then Play gave me the opening notes to “Death Letter Blues” originally sung by Son House. The original was a mournful song about the death of a loved one; Zombie’s version was much more sinister. That would work. I didn’t know why this CD was there in amidst all the trip-hop crap, but I threw up a silent thank you to God that they were.
Nobody should have to die to a crappy soundtrack.
Leaving the sound booth, I walked to the back of the dance floor where the others were gathered. It gave us a wall to our backs and the most distance from the door to pick off as many vampires as possible. Racks of weapons and ammo boxes stood sentry on legs. Father Mulcahy was in the middle of the group wearing his priestly vestments and holding a bottle of anointing oil.
Blood and Bullets Page 21