Speaking to the five newcomers Ian said “Be of good courage. We’ll win this thing. We have more weapons and we have surprise on our side. They’ll think an army has invaded.” He shook hands with Robert, Margaret and their three protégés and then embraced each of his family.
“Let’s go wait at our posts now. When I go, we all go.” He turned and bounded toward the house and onto an adjacent rooftop and settled down as the others took up positions all around the house on adjacent buildings.
It was a little over an hour before dawn when four black shadows flitted into the yard and leaped silently to the windows and melted through them. One was carrying a bundle over his shoulder. Ian gave them a minute and then he hooted like an owl and leaped to the ground, bounding up and into the house. Soon the others were behind him. He glided to the stairs and motioned the others to go past him and wait. Robert and Margaret and one Adept entered the room and waved to them. He whispered “Beware of latecomers.” Then he closed that door. They had stared wide-eyed at him in his hooded black suit and then had noticed that the whole team had the same suits on. He glided to the other room and waved to the two Adepts whispering “Beware of latecomers.” and then he closed that door too. Quickly he flitted to four other rooms on the third floor and found them empty.
His team followed him then as he glided silently down the stairs to the second floor. They split up into two groups and silently flitted from room to room. No one was on that floor either. They hopped up onto the handrails of the staircase then and descended it walking on their hands. Making a silent descent to the first floor they heard voices. As they got closer, they could make out words “You sold the little girl so I brought a snack here for my new mate.”
“You took your time about it. She must be nearly dead from the sound of her. You’d better get down there and see to it.”
Laughter then “I barely bit her so she hardly got any venom. I’ve waited so that she’d be nearly dead. She’ll be all the more grateful to me. She and I will have some fun today, or at least I will! Is there some rope down there?”
“Yes, in the cell with your sweetheart.” There was the sound of tittering laughter. Ian could hear at least two feminine laughs.
“And why did you bring a child? Someone will be looking for him.”
“Not likely. He was eating from a garbage can when I found him.”
“Well, let’s go truss him up. Your sweetheart won’t need all of that blood tonight. We’ll all help drain him. Let’s be sure that your sweetheart can see us slit his throat. I love it when they see that for the first time.” Lots of laughter followed, and the sound of a door opening and people descending stairs.
Ian glided forward and took out a pistol and held it up to signal the others behind him. He glided down the stairs into a sizeable cellar with a dirt floor. There was the sound of voices and laughter. Ian rounded the corner and motioned Li to his side and Andre to his other side as he advanced silently toward the vampires. All had their backs to the approaching group. The boy was bound and lying in a corner with a gag in his mouth.
They were closing the distance when one of the females turned. Her eyes widened seeing the six black-hooded figures advancing silently. She screamed and pandemonium broke loose. Ian had already pulled his second pistol and he shot two males through their heads and in less than a blink of an eye had shot two more, but not through their heads. He was aware of pistols being discharged on each side of him as he plunged into their midst. Li hit his target in the head with one pistol and then got another in the gut with a second shot. Andre got one in the head and hit another in the throat.
They all screeched and bellowed in a blind panic as they bounded into their midst, swords flashing like lightning. The vampires only saw a mass of black hooded figures that were attacking with swords drawn and pistols blazing. It was a chaotic melee now with the coven in an absolute panic, each trying to find a way past these grim looking figures, but failing. Any who made it past Ian, Li, and Andre faced three more, each with four loaded pistols. The gun smoke hung thick in the air and it had become hard to see.
Ian had one now that had a knife out and made a lightning jab toward him. He sidestepped and cut off his arm, kicking it away and bored in with a thrust through the gut. He kicked that one who was roaring in pain so as to free his sword and hacked at the neck of another twice, lopping off his head on the second try. Li pulled a pistol and shot one of the females between the eyes then, kicking her to one side and drawing his sword to lunge at another.
By now two had gotten past and had been thoroughly riddled by Marie and Sophia who had dropped their pistols and pulled two more. Henri had shot another in his throat and shoulder. The noise was at a crescendo, and smell of cordite was thick in the air. It was now impossible to see anything farther than ten feet distant due to the smoke.
One who was hit had streaked past Henri, Marie, and Sophia. Ignoring him they kept advancing and drew their swords. They advanced carefully in the hazy air toward the sound of the fighting and suddenly an enemy lunged out of the smoke running toward them with a knife in one hand. Henri sheared off his knife arm and Marie ran him through, twisting her sword violently as he screamed. Sophia lopped his head off then with a two-handed stroke and kicked it to a corner of the room. The three kept advancing as a unit, Henri at the center. As they advanced the three decapitated three more who were thrashing around on the ground with bullet holes in their heads
Ian, Li, and Andre had lopped off the heads of two more and had two pinned to the ground now with their short swords. One was minus a foot and the other minus a hand. It was over then and the place was suddenly quiet except the two who were moaning, pinned to the dirt by the others.
“Who is hurt, say so now!” said Ian. Henri said “I think we just have some cuts here.” The others then answered. Sophia had two cuts across her abdomen and Marie had a cut along one arm. Ian walked around to look at each one and gave Marie and Sophia hugs and the others a slap on their back with a grin. “Well done, everyone. Did any get past us?
Henri said “Yes; I’d better go upstairs. He turned and bounded out of sight up the stairs. Margaret was lying wounded in Robert’s arms, moaning softly, and he minus two fingers. The three Adept protégés were with them, but one of them was missing a hand. There were two beheaded vampires on the floor. “What happened here, Robert?”
“One came in trying to escape and another came through the window at the same time. Were it not for these two they would’ve gotten away. I got a shot off but hit one’s neck. The other cut Margaret down from behind. With all of the noise we never heard him come through the window. The wounded one cut off the hand of Steven here. He had a sword. My other two companions here burst in and cut him down and finished off the other.”
About then Ian came in and surveyed the scene. He knelt beside Robert and Margaret and gave one of his flasks to Robert. Shifting and holding Margaret then, he held up another flask for her to drink from. She thanked him and began to recover. He eased her to a place where she could lean against the wall. Then he began to look for Robert’s fingers and found both behind the door, carrying them to him and pressing one into place. He held it for a half of a minute and it began to knit itself back to his hand. Robert grimaced and nodded as he gripped it himself. Going back to Margaret, Ian carried her to come to sit with Robert. Henri had found Steven’s hand and had brought it to him.
“Well done everyone. None escaped. I have to go back downstairs. It may be best if we just take the heads away for now and come back for the bodies tonight.”
Grimacing with pain, Robert said indicating his three Adept protégés “Not necessary, Ian. These three will take care of that.”
Ian turned to them and said “See if you can find a table cloth or bedding to bag their heads. I have to question two of them.” He bounded away to the cellar again. Along the way he saw Sophia sitting in the pa
rlor with the boy, talking with him.
Making his way through the smoky hazy mess, he picked his way to the back of the cellar and found the cell door closed, but unlocked. He looked at the others and said “Anyone been in there yet?” They all shook their heads as Ian cautioned for silence. He opened the cell and peered into the gloomy interior trying to see through the smoky haze. His prickly alarm started up and he felt an icy chill descend his spine, so he cautiously proceeded in, sword drawn. Hearing a noise behind him to his left, he turned that way. Suddenly he heard a commotion behind him and turned in time to see a vampire bearing down on him, eyes blazing and wielding a sword that was already starting to descend. Suddenly a figure from behind that one bowled into him and locked its arms around the vampire’s waist. That was just enough to cause his sword stroke to narrowly miss Ian’s neck and hit his shoulder, cutting it deeply. Fiery pain enveloped his shoulder area as at that same instant, Ian transferred his sword to his left hand and pivoted while stepping back. As the vampire moved past him, Ian reached out and snatched the hair of his head and bore him to the floor as the one who had attacked from the rear rolled clear. He struck viciously downward and severed the vampire’s head from his body, kicking it to the farthest corner of the cell. The one who had grabbed the other one from behind bounded to her feet at vampire speed. Ian whirled, eyes blazing like two sapphires as he crouched, ready to launch an attack. In the same instance that one leaped back, holding her hands to her sides, palms outward. She said “I’m Jennifer! I’m not one of them!”
Ian relaxed then and stood erect, removing his hood. Grimacing in pain he said “Hello, Jennifer. Aimee told me about you. Thanks for jumping in when you did. I believe that if you hadn’t, my head would be on the floor with all of these others.”
“Ian?” She smiled then, brightening. “No thanks are necessary. Aimee said her family would come.” She stepped out of the smoky haze toward him and stopped, standing in front of him. “You’re hurt.”
Ian grimaced again, pulled a flask from a pocket and drained it. “I’m pleased to meet you, Jennifer. You’ll have to excuse me for a bit.” He left the cell and went over to the stairs and sat down, leaning against the wall and just waited for his shoulder to heal itself as she followed. “If you’re up to it Jennifer, help find all of their heads. We need to leave soon.” Marie came over then to see his wound and gave him a hug saying “It’s healing well already.” In a few more minutes, he got up then and walked to the group holding the two on the floor and said “Who buys little girls from you bastards?”
No one spoke. Ian saw that one of the two was the bald one, lying there moaning, minus a foot. He grabbed him and dragged him to the other side of the cellar through two doors to a storage area, spearing his foot with his sword as he happened across it. He flipped his sword and the foot flew into a corner. Then he said “That belongs to you. You might try answering my question if you want it back.” He asked again and got no response. So he drew his knife and cut off his index finger in a flash. The vampire hollered in pain, clutching his wounded hand to his chest and then he said “I just have one customer. I took a little girl there tonight. I can take you to the place if you let me go.”
“You supplied him then?”
“Yes.” Ian handed him his finger and he held it as it began to knit back to his hand.
“Who else?”
“He was the only one.”
“Li; please come in here.” Li was there in a second. “Please watch this one for a bit.”
Returning to the other group he saw that the one they had pinned was the vampire who had abducted Jennifer. He writhed and moaned, holding the stump of his right arm. Ian looked about and finally stepped on a hand that looked like it could be his. He speared it with his sword and brought it to him then and held it against his wrist until it began to knit.
“What’s your story?”
“To hell with you! There’s enough blood in the boy. We would’ve shared with all of you if you’d asked.”
Ian regarded him for a moment. Marie stepped forward and said “We don’t drink human blood, you cockroach. It’s your kind that makes it harder for us to live peaceably. You brought this hell upon yourselves.”
Ian drew his sword menacingly and the vampire hollered “Stop, stop. What do you want to know?”
“Who do you sell little girls to?”
“That’s his specialty. I don’t like to be around them long enough to get paid. That wench in the cell there is mine. I caught her and I bit her so she’s mine. You can have a turn after I break her in.”
Henri said “I asked my mate to marry me and she did. We don’t take women by force like you maggots do.”
“Married? Asked? I take what I want. That is what a real vampire does. Ask that wench in there who her man is.”
Chuckling while shaking his head Ian said “Looks to me like most of you ‘real vampires’ have lost your heads tonight over that notion. Jennifer, come here.”
Jennifer had been talking to Marie and Li. She came smiling, an inquisitive look on her pretty face. “This one says you’re his. What do you say to that?”
She walked up to them and spat on the vampire “Give me a pistol and I’ll show you what I say!” Marie walked over and handed her last loaded pistol to Jennifer who put it to the head of the vampire and shot him. Andre lopped off his head.
Ian walked back to the other room to the bald headed one then. He speared his foot and tossed it so that it fell near him. The vampire held it in place for a minute and it began to knit and reattach. Three minutes passed in silence and then Ian said “Li let him stand now.” They let him stand up then. He looked closely at Ian then and suddenly his eyes widened. “I know you. You were the drunk who was near my table tonight!”
“I’m sober now.” replied Ian as he struck his head from his shoulders.
Chapter 101
The three Adepts had picked up all of the weapons and had gathered the eleven heads. By daybreak, they’d all departed. The three were to come back that night and dispose of the bodies.
Jennifer had written her employer a letter of resignation, explaining that she had found a better job and had to relocate now to secure it. One of the Adepts went to the Hungry Eye Tavern to deliver the letter. The family returned to the estate, taking Jennifer with them.
Robert took Ian and the boy who had been a captive to a place that he owned which was an apartment in a small nondescript building in a nondescript part of London. Margaret took the carriage and said she would return soon with food and a change of clothes for the boy. In a half an hour, the lad was giving himself a hot bath, perhaps the first in years.
Ian and Robert then sat down and Ian said “Sir, I have two men bound and waiting for you to question. We should go there after Margaret returns.”
“I’m not ‘sir’ to you anymore, my friend. I’m Robert.” he said with a smile. Ian smiled too then and said “Thank you Robert.” As they discussed options for the boy, Margaret returned with some food and a package containing clothing.
“Margaret, we have to run an errand. Can you take care of our young guest for a while?”
“Yes. Go ahead. Ian, thank you for everything.”
“No thanks are necessary, although I nearly lost my head last night.”
Robert laughed heartily and said “So we heard. We only thought we had the worst of it! So Marie and Sophia accompany you on these…raids all of the time.”
“Yes. We’re a team as well as a family.”
“I was impressed how well and how thoroughly everything was done.”
“To be fair, they’ve had a lot of training that you and Margaret haven’t had.”
She laughed then and said “I can surely see that. Whose idea was it to make those black suits?”
“Well, I needed one once so I made the first one.”
“Was that the time in Paris where you went in alone
against a group of them?”
“It was. The others liked them, so Marie and Sophia made them after that. Marie designed and made the double shoulder-mounted pistol holsters too, for an excursion we had in Austria.”
Margaret laughed then and said “Now that is a type of sewing and fashion design that I never dreamt of! I have to admit this. I was terrified waiting up there, but now that it’s over, it was fun, wasn’t it? Well, I mean it was fun for me other than being stabbed and Robert losing a couple of fingers for a while!” She laughed giddily then as she thought of what she’d said.
Ian and Robert laughed and then Ian rubbed his shoulder and said “Marie told Henri that after one of our raids too. I’m not commenting on that.”
***
Being that it was daylight now, Ian just drove the carriage past the posh estate of the pervert, saying “I have him and his errand boy gagged and trussed up in the woods out back.”
Robert had ceased to talk as they had gotten closer to the place and continued in silence. Finally he said “This is the home of the senior partner of our bank.” There was silence as the horses clip-clopped along the boulevard past magnificent homes. Finally Ian said “I’m sorry Robert. Are you close to him?”
“No. We’re co-partners only. I never dreamt…damn his eyes! What a disgusting thought! There’s only one punishment for such a one.”
“The bald one said he’d furnished little girls for him on other occasions.”
Ian saw that Robert’s features had hardened, becoming grim. He’d never seen him look that way before. Robert gave Ian directions to take another road and eventually they were proceeding through a wooded area with no homes visible. He pulled down a narrow brush-choked lane for some two hundred yards and stopped. “We can get there from here.” he said as he got out of the carriage. He turned to Ian and said “This is my mess. I’ll take it from here, Ian.”
They talked at some length, establishing an alibi for Robert and a version of events wherein Thomas had found Aimee wandering the streets and had brought her home safely just this morning. Ian told him that Aimee had received some instruction regarding how to fight against an adult who might try to take her for any reason and that she had broken Edward’s finger and bitten his ear.
Forever Young The Beginning Page 57