Greater Vampires

by Trudie Collins

  Luke pointed out one large crack. “That one was caused by Gabriel throwing me onto the floor. It hurt a lot, but not as much as the one near the corner over there. That’s where I almost crushed his skull with my foot. I would have managed it too, if he hadn’t moved at the last minute. The force broke my tibia in two places.”

  Sarah shuddered. She had seen and heard enough. “It’s time we went home,” she said before Luke could say anything more.

  Luke and JD grinned at each other.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Weeks passed without any more hunters being attacked. JD had told Patrick and Doc that Luke and his family weren’t responsible, and that they were looking for who was, and the message was passed up the chain of command. It didn’t take long for JD to receive a call saying that he was to keep in touch with Luke. If there were other greater vampires in the area, the hunter society wanted to be kept informed.

  Cassy and Brian had managed to find evidence that a greater vampire had been where the hunters were attacked, but there was no indication as to who it was or where he or she went. Luke’s family became more vigilant, looking for signs whenever they went out, but no more evidence of a visiting greater vampire could be found. Whoever it was, they were keeping themselves well hidden.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Early one Friday evening, JD got a call from his father.

  “Is Jonathon with you?” he asked before even saying hello. This had JD concerned. His father was always polite whenever he called.

  “No, but I can find him. Want me to call you back?”

  “No, I’ll stay on the line. You had better find Katie and Sarah as well. I have something I need to tell you before you start to hear rumours.”

  JD handed his phone to Sarah. “It’s my father,” he said. “Go and talk to him in my office while I find Jonathon and Katie.”

  Sarah saw the concern on her husband’s face and didn’t ask any questions.

  As soon as all four were in JD’s office, he put his phone on speaker. “Okay dad, what’s going on?”

  “I have been suspended from being a trainer and have left Sanctuary 3.”

  “You have done what?” Jonathon asked. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

  His father then told his sons and daughters-in-law everything. Nobody asked any questions until he had finished his story.

  One of his female students, who he didn’t name out of respect for her privacy, had been flirting with him for a while. She was in her early twenties, so instead of speaking to her parents, JD’s father tried to handle the situation himself. He explained that he wasn’t interested, that he wouldn’t cheat on his wife and that it was inappropriate for a trainer to be involved with one of his students.

  “Unfortunately,” he said, “she then brought up JD and Sarah. I had to point out that the situation was completely different for a number of reasons. Firstly, the age difference, and secondly both JD and Sarah were single.”

  JD grimaced. It had taken a lot on Sarah’s part to convince him that they would be able to maintain a relationship while still being student and trainer and now it was coming back to bite him.

  JD’s father went on to explain that his words had no effect on the young lady and she continued to flirt with him whenever they were alone. It got to the stage where he stopped having one-on-one training sessions with her and considered requesting she be transferred.

  “I wish I had now,” he said, his bitterness evident in his voice. “Obviously I told your mother everything and when she had a quiet word with the young hunter, she had the audacity to say that it was me coming on to her, not the other way round.”

  The next day, after a group training session, the girl stayed behind. Before JD’s father could get out of the arena, she pushed him against the wall and tried to kiss him. Unfortunately, it was not witnessed by anyone.

  He pushed her away and told her that if she didn’t leave him alone he would have her transferred. The next thing he knew, she had been beaten and raped and was claiming he did it. He was immediately suspended while an enquiry was launched.

  “I’ve not even been given the chance to give my version of events,” he said.

  “Where are you?” JD asked.

  “In a hotel. I won’t go back to the Sanctuary until I have cleared my name.”

  “What about mum?” Jonathon asked.

  “She’s with me. You know your mother. As soon as I was suspended, she told them they would have to find another leader for Sanctuary 3. I think her exact words were that they could stick her job where the sun don’t shine.”

  “You can’t stay in a hotel,” JD said. “The investigation could take weeks. Come and stay here. I’m sure nobody will object.”

  “I’ll go and check,” Sarah whispered and left the room in search of Doc.

  “Thanks for the offer son, but I don’t want to put your team or Frank in an awkward position.”

  “You won’t be,” JD assured him. “Sarah has gone to get approval. Besides, I’ll need you nearby if I am to be your defence attorney.”

  “It’s not a court of law. I don’t get to have legal representation.”

  “No,” JD said, “but you do get to have a representative. Are you saying you would rather it be someone else?”

  “Of course not. Alright then. Speak to everyone there, not just Frank. If they all agree, call me back and we’ll check out of the hotel.”

  “Speak to you soon,” JD said then hung up.

  “This is really bad,” Katie said. “How can they have suspended Shawn? How can anyone believe he could do such a thing?”

  “I don’t know,” Jonathon said. “But there must be more to the story. Dad will tell us everything when he gets here.”

  “I guess we need to have a family meeting,” JD said, though he had little doubt as to what the outcome would be. “I’ll find Sarah, you two get the hunters together. Natalie included. She deserves a say in this.”

  Katie and Jonathon nodded their heads and headed in different directions, Jonathon to the games room, Katie to the bedrooms.

  JD found Sarah in Doc and Silvia’s suite, explaining to them what was going on. Doc looked furious.

  “How’s Shawn?” he asked as soon as he saw JD.

  “Stressed, as you can imagine.”

  “I’ll make sure there is a room ready for him and Linda,” Silvia said. “I can’t believe they have had to leave their own Sanctuary.”

  “That will have to wait,” JD said. “I’m calling a family meeting so we can vote on whether they can stay here or not.”

  Silvia snorted. It was something JD had never heard her do before and he was taken aback. “You don’t need me for that. As far as I am concerned we should not even be discussing this. I’m going to prepare their room. Let me know if anyone votes against them moving in and I will have a few words with them.”

  She bustled away, leaving her husband grinning at her departing back. “I think she speaks for us all,” he said, “but I suppose we had better go through the formalities.”

  It didn’t take long for everyone except Silvia to congregate in the dining room. Craig couldn’t believe what he was hearing when JD explained why they were all there. Other than JD, Jonathon and Katie, he was the only hunter to have trained under JD’s father and, like the others, he knew that there could be no truth to the accusations.

  “I need a simple yes or no,” JD said when he had finished summing up the events. “If you vote no, nobody will hold it against you.”

  “Like hell we won’t,” Jonathon said quietly enough so only JD could hear him.

  JD ignored him and turned his attention to Doc, waiting for his answer before going to the person next to him. Everyone said yes until there was only Jane and Natalie left to vote.

  “I’ve never trained under your father,” Jane said, “or had much dealings with him at a
ll, but Simon spoke about him a lot. He admired him and often said that if he was forced to leave Sanctuary 14 he would go back to 3. I know in my heart that he would vote yes, so how can I do otherwise?”

  “Thank you,” JD said, then turned to Natalie. “I know this is difficult for you. You have only ever met my father once and I can understand if you don’t want to live under the same roof as someone who has been accused of rape.”

  Natalie looked offended. “Of course it’s not difficult. Craig trusts and believes him and that is good enough for me. Of course your parents can move in.”

  Jonathon was dialling his father’s number before Natalie had finished her sentence.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  “It’s good to see you Shawn,” Doc said as JD’s parents walked up to the front door. Both were tall and slim, with dark hair beginning to grey. He shook his hand then kissed Linda on the cheek. “You too Linda. Scott will show you to your room. Dinner will be ready soon.”

  “Thank you for letting us stay,” Shawn said.

  “Think nothing of it. If JD hadn’t suggested it, I would have. I would tell you what I think of the way you are being treated, but I do not want to use that sort of language in front of a lady.”

  Linda smiled at him. “Go ahead. I’m sure you won’t use any words I haven’t already said.”

  It didn’t take JD’s parents long to unpack and Jonathon made space on the main wall in the arena for his father to put his swords.

  “Tomorrow morning is going to be interesting,” Craig said during dinner. Shawn didn’t like the way Craig was grinning at him.

  “Why?”

  “Every hunter who stays here overnight has to attend the 5am training session. You were JD’s trainer for a long time. Ready for the shoe to be on the other foot?”

  “I’m suspended,” Shawn said hastily. “Therefore that rule doesn’t apply to me.”

  “Only from being a trainer, not from being a hunter,” Doc said. “And we would ignore the suspension anyway.”

  “I thought you would be on my side,” Shawn mumbled. He looked across the table at Sarah. “He wouldn’t really do that to me would he?” He was hoping she would persuade JD to let him off. He had never attended one of his son’s training sessions and was afraid he would be humiliated if he could not keep up.

  “Of course he would,” Sarah said. ‘Hasn’t anyone ever told you your son is evil?”

  Shawn turned to JD, who was grinning broadly. “You won’t kick a man when he’s down will you?”

  “It’s the best thing for you. You’re a hunter. You can’t stop acting like one just because someone up the chain of command is being stupid. Besides, I’m looking forward to ordering you around for once.”

  “You’re right Sarah. He is evil.” Then his face turned sombre. “On a serious note, thank you all for doing this. Not only for letting Linda and myself stay here, but for not asking if I am guilty. Some of you hardly know me, so you must be wondering.”

  It was Jane who replied. “No, we’re not. We may not know you well, but we do JD and Jonathon and nobody who brought those two up could ever be guilty of what you are accused of.”

  Linda hid her face as she wiped a tear from her eye. The people at her own Sanctuary had given her sympathy and offered what comfort they could to her, but not one of them had told her they believed her husband to be innocent.

  “Who is looking after Sanctuary 3?” Scott asked. “I have never heard of a Sanctuary losing its leader and trainer at the same time.”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care,” Linda said. “A number of people begged me to stay on, saying that what my husband did is not my fault and everyone there would fully support me. I told them that it’s Shawn who needs their support and if they are not prepared to give it then I want nothing more to do with them.”

  Silvia actually cheered. “We are going to get on very well,” she said.

  “There’s one thing you need to know,” Shawn said. “My accuser allegedly has a witness.”

  “She really has got it in for you hasn’t she,” Craig said. “I wonder how much she’s paying this so called witness. Can we get access to her bank account to see if there have been any large withdrawals?”

  “Do you know who the witness is?” Doc asked.

  “No,” Shawn said. “I’m being told nothing.”

  “Leave it with me,” JD said. “As your defending representative, I have to be told everything pertinent to the investigation.”

  “Who is your accuser?” Jonathon asked. He had friends in every Sanctuary in the area so planned on asking around for any dirt on her that could be used against her.

  Shawn knew his son well enough to know what he was planning. “Stay out of this Jonathon. If you start asking too many questions it will do me more harm than good.”

  “He’s right,” JD said when Jonathon opened his mouth to respond. “Let me handle this. We have to prove that dad is innocent, not that his accuser is a little bitch who deserves everything she is going to have coming to her. And I have a few ideas on just how to do that.”

  She can’t be controlled

  The following Wednesday evening, JD was working late so wasn’t home when the hunt alarm went off. Shawn and Linda were in the lounge with Silvia when Craig put his head around the door.

  “Want to come with us?” he asked. Shawn looked uncertain. While he longed to go on a hunt, he didn’t want to meet anyone from another Sanctuary.

  Craig guessed the reason for the hesitation. “Doc has confirmed that no other Sanctuary is being sent and we are missing a trainer. We could do with the help.”

  Shawn knew full well that the hunters from Sanctuary 14 could manage without him and he appreciated what Craig was trying to do. It had been a long time since he had hunted with Jonathon, Craig and Katie and it would be good to do so again.

  He threw a questioning glance at his wife, who nodded her head. “Alright,” he said and almost ran from the room in his haste to get changed.

  “Thank you for doing this,” Linda said.

  “I’m not doing it for Shawn,” Craig said. “JD isn’t around so we need someone to keep Jonathon under control.”

  “I heard that,” Jonathon’s voice sounded from the corridor, making both Craig and Linda smile.

  “Jason usually gives us a pep talk before every hunt,” Sarah said when all of the hunters were suited up and waiting by the front door. “Would you care to do the honours?”

  JD’s father was more than happy to do so. He ended it with, “And everything that happens I’ll report back to JD so be warned. No getting sloppy and making stupid mistakes.”

  Scott and Jonathon both grabbed car keys. On the way, Sarah called JD to let him know that they were going on a hunt so that he wouldn’t worry if he tried to call her and received no reply. JD did not answer, which was unusual, so she left him a voicemail, then put it from her mind. She had a job to do and could not afford to be thinking about anything else.

  The hunt was successful. Three dead vampires, one saved victim and no injured hunters. Shawn was an experienced hunter and trainer and co-ordinated them well. It wasn’t the same as having JD with them, but all of the hunters from 14 were happy to have Shawn in command.

  JD was home when they returned. “Trying to steal my hunters from me?” he asked his father.

  “I wish I could. They’re the best hunting team I have ever seen. I haven’t really taken that much notice when we’ve been on joint hunts before. You trained them well.”

  Shawn knew they were good. The fact that they had survived the ambush that Christina had set up for them proved that. He had been one of the first to arrive to rescue them and had seen the number of ‘dead’ vampires. It had taken a long time for them all to be beheaded after Sanctuary 14 had left the area.

  He had witnessed his two sons fighting off more vampires than should have been humanly possible. If JD had not been a vampire, they wo
uld probably have died. The team had been split up and he had heard reports about how well the other three did, but this was the first time he had seen for himself how good they were.

  “How much longer are you going to let Sarah hunt?” he asked once Sarah was out of earshot.

  “Not much longer. I am not looking forward to telling her.” Then JD grinned at him. “You could always do it for me.”

  Shawn shook his head. “No way. She wouldn’t listen to me. And I don’t want to face her in the arena if she takes exception to the suggestion.”

  A few days later, the hunt alarm went off again, but this time Shawn refused to go with them. Hunters from 3 had already been despatched and he didn’t want to see any of them.

  “Will your accuser be with them?” Jonathon asked.

  Shawn shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. I’ve no idea. I know that she’s still being permitted to hunt.”

  “How can that be justified?” Craig said. “This whole situation is ludicrous. The sooner the hearing starts the better. Then the truth will come out and the innocent party will stop being punished.”

  Everyone murmured their agreement.

  “I want you all to put this out of your minds,” JD told his hunters. “Hunters from 3 will be fighting vampires and will need our help. I know it’s going to be hard, but you must treat them the same as you would have done before this happened. Lives may depend on it.”

  JD hoped the words hadn’t needed to be said, but he was afraid that his speech had been necessary. The look on some of the faces present confirmed his fears. They would act professionally toward the other hunters, but weren’t happy about having to do so.

  They were being sent to a place known locally as ‘lovers lane’. It was a quiet area with a good view, plenty of parking space and no street lamps. Courting couples often went there to make out. Jonathon knew it well.

  They arrived before Sanctuary 3 and split up to look for the vampires. A number of cars were parked nearby, but there was nobody in any of the vehicles. Lots of blood, but no people, alive or dead.