by C P Sennett
“There is nothing wrong with our van.” snarled the guy as he moved towards me. “You’re following me aren’t you. Now fuck off.”
“Following you, I’m going home.” I stammered. “I run a call out car repair and tuning service.” I said as my brain raced, grasping at what to say next that was believable. “Honest, that’s why I’ve got this car. Sorry, mate, if you don’t want my help. It’s no bother to me and I didn’t mean to frighten you!” I said apologetically, seeing if his ego would bite about the frightened bit.
Another man came into view as he leaned out of the driver’s side window.
“We need to go, come on.” said a thin faced bearded man in a thick Essex sounding accent.
The bigger guy stopped and pointed at me as it seemed the driver’s voice overrode any ideas he had about kicking my ass by the roadside. “It’s your lucky day, you little shite, use it wisely.” he snarled.
I took a deep breath to make me seem relieved that this hulk wasn’t going to give me a beating. Also, I was pretty sure the big man was human as I had been able to see his steady breath form in the night air, it was normal and like mine. Something younger vampires are not so good at and some of the older ones just never bothered to master it.
“Just before you go…” I quietly said to the big guy.
The big man stopped and turned angrily to me.
“I thought you were not supposed to stop for anything?” I said, with a deadpan delivery.
A look of realisation appeared on his face. A realisation that I was following him and that he had been set up.
“You little cunt.” he snarled before running back around the front of my SUV towards me.
“Tinzar-um.” I said, stepping back after my smaller stick had dropped into my hand from its hidden wrist holder. It grew a bit and sent a blast of force out of the end of it. The white light slammed into the big man. The heavy man flew off his feet and landed on the dirt at the side of the road. I had stepped back further just in case it didn’t fully stop him.
To my surprise, although this guy was down he wasn’t out. He was a tough bastard I’ll give him that, as he lay on the floor groaning. As I walked up to him my staff grew to a full size. I raised the six feet of wood high above my head and with both hands and all my weight I brought the solid staff down on his legs. I figured he had earned it for what I had seen him do to Tabitha.
I’m not the sort for revenge normally and I’m not easily angered when a woman gets hit, even a young girl. It’s not nice, but I needed to keep my cool and now it was time for me to be like ice. This was payback but it was also necessary, it just so happened I enjoyed doing this.
The man roared out in pain as the hefty wooden staff smashed across his right thigh. His hands shot down quickly to where my blow landed. I didn’t pause though, I struck again with a second shot but this time lower down his leg. This blow struck his ankle hard and I suspected it broke it. The pain the man was in was audible as he bellowed in pain at my feet.
“I want the girl.” I growled standing over him as I raised my hand towards the van.
I was worried the driver may hit the accelerator but instead he got out of the car. In fact, he got out of the car a little too fast, too fast to be human.
He covered the ground quickly, like Martin Stone did earlier. I had two options, chance a shot of my own or defend again his attack. I went for the latter raising a hurried shield spell. The vampire slammed into my shield. His clawed hands hard with fingers like miniature knives.
I could see sparks fly from my shield as I staggered back under the force of his powerful strikes. He had swung four or five times at me before I really got a chance to do much. He had backed me up a few feet past the rear of my car and he was still striking strong. My shield wouldn’t hold for much longer. I had to do something to get him thinking about his own defence.
I slammed my staff on the floor and the magical power in me surged down the staff and into the ground. “Encaror” I shouted to invoke the spell.
The ground flew up in front of me, soil, plant life and some small bits of tarmac leapt into the sky along with the vampire.
The van was showered in bits of debris and to my surprise the vampire landed on his feet, some distance away. I tracked his movement but the creature altered his balance in the air like a gymnast. He turned his body and came down as though he was from a Marvel superheroes movie.
The creature landed and although some distance away something struck my shield. In the lowlight of the road he threw something, something small and fast, a blade of some kind which thankfully my shield took but it was hurting to keep it up.
“Larcaras” I said, pointing my hand at the vampire. Electricity coursed across my body and with my arm now bright with power I released the spell. Lighting jumped away from me and somehow, rare that this happens, but the creature jumped to the side. He was faster than Martin Stone was, either that or he was better at reading my movements than others I had faced. He was a Well’an vampire, one of house Well’an or a homeless one as they are referred. Low vampires without the protection of a major house.
This one was fast though and strong, perhaps he was from a main house and banished for some transgression.
The vampire raced towards me again with a zigzag movement always going where I didn’t expect him to. I would struggle to hit him and with my shield lower, I had to do something. I had to out think him.
The creature raced towards me, snarling and fangs showing. Another object hit at my shield but again it was so fast I couldn’t react. This was no normal new vampire. He had quickly worked out I wielded magic and adapted to face me. He knew how to battle a magic user, so, it was I who had to adapt.
I had to be sure to land my shot when I took it, I had to get him. I backed away and the creature saw his opportunity and rushed in faster. It was as if he sensed the kill was near.
It stuck me again, impossibly fast but as I felt the pain of my shield breaking on the creature’s second rapid strike I played my hand. I had held the lighting in my hand, waiting to strike but instead of doing a single line of energy I sent it out in a wider arc away but away from my SUV. As the lighting sparked in front of me I had put a lot of power into it. It would easily be enough to kill a human and it should be enough to kill just about anything supernatural as well.
There was a loud bang and a flash of light. It hurt my ears and I was forced to turn away as the energy obliterated the air molecules around us. It generated fire, light, heat, sound and force all at the same time.
I heard the screams of the vampire lying on the floor though, about ten feet away as he thrashed for a moment.
He was alight and rolling around on the floor as the fire consumed him. Flames savaged the creature’s body and head fast. Flames, almost as high as me burned him as he thrashed violently for a moment before the fire consumed him. Even I was surprised how quick the creature’s body was reduced to ash, literally. By the time I had stood up and composed myself he was no more.
The big human wasn’t injured by the lighting, the energy had been too high for him and directed away. He was still on the floor, only now holding his ankle.
I’ll say this, he must be made of some bloody stern stuff, as somehow, he was still conscious.
I walked up to him, he flinched a little obviously recognising my shape through the pain. “Tinzar-um” was all I said as I walked past him. The man had no give to him to avoid any of the force of my magic. The bolt of white energy slammed into him, he exhaled and then fell silent.
My mind was now more than a little foggy so I stopped to shake my head clear. A headache building fast. I needed sleep and that spell had taken a lot out of me, more than I thought.
I took a moment and looked around me.
My Range Rover was fine, still running exactly as I had left her. The big human was still, on the ground and the ash pile was disappearing in the night’s breeze. That vampire was a dangerous foe and not someone I wanted in Essex, even if I
was only temporarily the Sentinel for the area. There wasn’t a vampire I knew of in Suffolk that fast. Granted, I’d never tested them but Suffolk doesn’t have much of a vampire problem. There are no more I guess than seventy in the county at any one time. Some nomadic ones but they generally they kept a low profile wanting to avoid others of their kind for fear of being taken out. Not to mention the lycans, spirits and other supernatural shit on my home patch.
The red van was untouched and still running fine. It’s engine ticking over nicely. Quickly, I approached it from a wide angle. I checked behind me as I went. Still no cars which was a good sign.
I got side on to the van. Nobody inside, so with a handkerchief in my hand to minimise any prints I turned off the engine and went around the back. I checked again. Still no cars from either direction and the big guy was still motionless.
I turned the key in the back still held in my handkerchief and I heard the mechanical lock comply. Then, I opened the door.
With my staff now reduced to the size of a cane I had it ready to hit at anything which came for me.
Inside I hoped was Tabitha and thankfully she was. She was not moving as the internal light came on in the back of the van. She was bound with metal handcuffs, the type you didn’t see much anymore. The use of cable ties must have really hurt the mechanical handcuff market. Now, it’s just the reserve of kinky couples and the police. These though, they were the old heavy style ones and not the modern variety used by law enforcement.
She was dressed, as I had seen her earlier. Except, she was laying on a pile of old blankets to give her some cushioning.
“No time for ceremony, time to get us both out of here.” I said aloud.
With that, I pulled her by the ankles down the storage area of the truck towards me. She didn’t murmur at all.
With a heave and a lot of strain I picked her up and slowly carried her back to my passenger seat. With the back seats, still down, I didn’t want to let her fly about in the back if I had to drive at speed. Instead, I eventually set her down in the passenger seat and put the belt across her.
Then, I did what I needed to do to get us both out of there.
Chapter 9
We left quickly and I’d even picked up the throwing knives the vampire had used on me. Well made from what I could tell and a bit heavy for me. I guess when you are as strong as they are then they most likely seemed normal and light.
The vampire had a few personal effects which hadn’t gone up in flames either. That was a surprise! A wallet in some burned jeans which I checked, nothing in them though and the wallet was empty. Still I didn’t want to leave anything obvious lying about. I had thrown the stinking burned jeans in the back as well. I also checked over the big guy. He had a wallet with some items in it which I left alone. Mostly personal effects, a wad of money and chances were any ID was fake. He didn’t have anything useful on him except a new looking Apple phone.
With a shade of luck his fingerprint unlocked it and instantly all his phone information was mine. Modern day technological security for you, you have to love it!
I found the post code in a text of where they were going to. To my surprise, St David’s was in Wales of all places so nowhere local at all. Hell, I didn’t even know who, if anyone, looked after Wales from the Order. I had only ever dealt with English members.
Still, there was some interesting info there. Rather than take the phone as it could be tracked. I took pictures on my own phone of the latest texts and images. The email wasn’t being used on the device so that saved time.
I had some numbers and some important looking messages. Also, some bad news as well.
It made me angry reading one chain of messages in particular. I don’t feel bad about killing nasty creatures, I’m not supposed to kill humans unless I have to as that raises questions.
Once I was finished, Tabitha, me and the Beast headed out of Essex and back to Suffolk, along the A12 and back to more familiar territory. She stirred as few times but my gentle attempts to wake her didn’t get much success. I had expected her to be awake by now but she wasn’t. Not a bad thing I guess, she had been in the wars.
****
Eventually I was back home. My proper home now as it was dark, almost 22:00. As I arrived I did my usual checks, disarmed the alarm and carried Tabitha inside to the front room.
After I laid her carefully on the large sofa I went to the kitchen to get some water in a pint glass. When I returned, she was starting to stir a little more.
I put the water next to her on a small table but I’d kept the cuffs on her which had her hands secured behind her back. As far as I was concerned they were as much for my safety as hers.
Tabitha moved a little more before I spoke. “Tabitha, you’re safe now.”
She moved a bit and her eyes fluttered, then they opened. They opened widely and she gasped for air and sat up. She was propped up fairly well anyhow by the sofa but her throat must have been sore from earlier.
Then her eyes focused on me. Sitting across from her in the dimly lit room, she stiffened.
“Hi Tabitha, you’re safe now. You’re not with the people who took you.”
She looked at me and then realised her arms were restrained so she started to panic. I didn’t want her trying to stand in case she fell as she wouldn’t have any hands to brake her fall.
I stood quickly and moved towards her. “Honestly, you’re safe.”
She focused on me again and not her immobilised hands. When she spoke she still had the preppy private school voice but now it was hoarse and raspy. “Why can’t I move then?” she asked.
“I’ll get you out in a second if you want?”
She coughed and nodded.
“Do you want a drink, I’ve got some water I can give you. It’s next to you.”
Again, she nodded as I slowly moved towards her and poured some of the water from the big glass. She drank it quickly as if she hadn’t drunk in a long time.
“Easy, easy.”
When she eventually stopped, she coughed a lot.
“You’re at my house, you’re safe here.” I then realised I should have gone to another safe house but this was the nearest one to where we were. That, and I was really tired now.
“You, who are you?” she coughed.
“Eddie is my name. I was asked to find you and I did.”
“By who?”
“Look, there are things I can’t say just yet. Firstly, I need to make sure you’re safe and I’ve got to try to work out what was happening. I guess you feel like shit now and I get it but I need some information from you. Do you understand? Also, you’re not in any trouble.”
She nodded, seemingly a bit confused. “My arms?” she asked looking over at one of her shoulders.
I didn’t want to let her loose, she was a kid and I only wanted to make sure she didn’t become a nuisance to me or a danger to herself. “If I let you loose, and this is against my better judgement, remember I’ve helped you so no funny business. You hear me?”
She nodded again.
“Sit forward and I’ll remove them. Handcuffs, that’s why you can’t move, they cuffed you.”
“Oh.” was all she said as she sat forward.
It wasn’t hard to force them open. With will I had been able to break the locking mechanism. They then both fell free from her wrists. It’s an easy thing to do and one of the first things I am sure I learned as a kid. Thankfully though, these were steel cuffs so they are easier to affect than old blacksmith forged, iron ones.
Tabitha rushed to get them off her wrists and rubbed at the marks left behind as she tried to get the blood flowing again.
“Ok, that should help and drink more of the water now as well. Just slowly this time.”
She smiled a little as I continued. “I know you’ve not had it easy but I need some answers from you. Can you do this for me?”
She nodded again rubbing her hands and coughing a bit as she took another sip of water.
�
�Sure, what do you want to know?” she asked
“Start with a bit of information about you first and just go from there Tabitha.” I said as I stood there, tired but listening as I could do with knowing why people were taking her. Was it she is just someone’s ‘type’ or was there more to it than that?
“My name is Tabitha…Oh, wait you know that already.”
I raised my hand to encourage her to just carry on. Any info is usually better from the source than what you pick up on a job. “My friend, Mel, her and I were to go into the bars in town to have some drinks. We’ve got fake ID’s.”
I smiled reassuringly. “It’s ok, most people do that at your age, please just carry on.”
She adjusted where she was sitting and looked for something. I guess a cushion perhaps but I didn’t have such niceties in my house. Just hard sofas as they help my back and are better to sleep on if I don’t make it up to bed. Also, leather ones wipe clean for injuries and spillages.
Tabitha continued with her account. “I didn’t meet Mel. I was a boarder so I hadn’t been at home much over the past few years. I was at Akirst College. It’s a school, a small private one. Do you know it?”
I nodded, it’s up near Colchester.
“Well, I’d left there and was due to meet Mel. She and I played in the school band together. I play the cello.”
I smiled, she looked like a cellist or flutist, it was an easy thing to picture.
“I had been dropped off in Ipswich. Only a few streets away from where Mel’s parents live. Mummy didn’t want to drop me off unless it was at Mel’s place but the roadworks were really slowing us up. I said I would walk but she wasn’t happy at all. Eventually, after sitting still for a while I persuaded her to let me walk as the traffic was bad. Also, it’s hardly a bad area of town where Mel lives.”
“Ok.” I added, not thinking the location was that relevant.
“Well, I got out and walked the rest of the way. Down a shortcut I know, around the cycle lane and then I came out just by Mel’s house.
