The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels

by Travis Luedke

  “Agreed.” I reached my hand out to him, a gesture that was not at all me. But I couldn’t help but to respect him. I was going to hate to have to kill him if I took a job with The Guild. With a small grin, and the hand that wasn’t engulfed in flame, he took my outstretched hand. His skin was cold to the touch, but still there was life to it. These vampires were confusing the hell out of me. Dead, but not dead. Ruthless hunters, but polite leaders that had concern for those they lead. I couldn’t imagine that he was intrigued half as much as I was with him. When the handshake dropped, he looked at the large door, and with no movement the door slid open. The large room that we entered was very different from the stairwell. It was warmer; the floor was covered with beautiful rugs, the walls painted and decorated with large tapestries and murals. A large fire burned in a fireplace in the center of the main wall. We walked past the many paintings toward a set of double oak doors. Again, the doors seemed to open of their own accord. The next room was decorated similarly to the main hall. However, this room had beds lining the walls. No less than a dozen on either side, each with its own vampire laying in it. If I hadn’t known better, I would have taken them all for dead bodies. “What, no coffins?” I already knew that they didn’t use coffins much. But I just couldn’t help myself.

  “No, Mr. Black, no coffins. I’m having them re-stained, they just didn’t match the decor.” At first I didn’t know if he was joking or not, ‘til he let out a small chuckle. “Through here, and we may talk.” Another set of wooden doors stood in front of us, and again they opened on their own. This room was just as the others were. The change here was a large conference table. “Please sit,” he said, as the doors slid shut. As fast as he had created the fire in his hand, it went out. The room was left in pitch darkness. For a split second I wanted to draw my pistols, but then the lights flickered on. “We are not totally without modern amenities down here.” We all took seats facing the door. He didn’t seem offended. Not that I gave two shits if he had been.

  “You wanted to talk?” Goodspeed spoke up, still sounding rather pissed off. “Talk.”

  “Miss Piper, I am sorry that your father has been taken. It is not right that humans should be pulled into our civil war. It was not I, nor any of my followers that were responsible.”

  She began to laugh. “And I… we should just take your word on that.”

  For a moment he sat in silence. “I have nothing else to give, but my word. I can understand your doubts in my kind and in me.” His eyes turned to the door, which slid open revealing Johnny and a tray of food and drinks. Without a word, the werewolf set the try on the table and left. I noticed the gash Terry had given him was nearly healed. Amun motioned his hand offering us refreshments. At the moment, none of us wanted anything. “I wish to know why you hate us so much. We hunt and we kill. It is for food not for joy. Do humans not kill cows and chickens in order to feed?” I couldn’t argue with him, he had a point. No one really had a response.

  “Now back to the business at hand,” he continued. “As I said, we did not have anything to do with his abduction. The Council was responsible for the attack on your convoy. Where they have taken him and which Council member plotted this I do not know. What I have come to conclude is that The Council wants to put a stop to me for one of two reasons. First, they fear a coup de tat’ from my followers and me. Not that we don’t want to see the end of The Council, but we do not have the numbers or the elders to support such a campaign. We are merely trying to free ourselves from their rule. They; however, do not give up power so easily. Reason two; our separation has caused the civil war in the vampire world that has raged for the past three hundred years, making them look weak. As the centuries pass our numbers grow, as does our power, still we are no match for The Council.

  “It is for this reason that I believe your convoy was attacked. They are over-estimating our powers. They believe we are too powerful to send young ones and they don’t want to lose any of their elders to us in battle—”

  “So they wanted us to come after you.” It was Carmen that finished his statement.

  “How do you say? … BINGO… Miss Piper,” Amun said, smiling ear to ear, allowing his fangs to catch the light. “Sending one of your enemies to weaken another would in turn weaken both if not destroy one or both of them. I will give it to The Council, they are as smart as they are ruthless.”

  “Amun,” I said. “May I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why did you want to separate from The Council?”

  “A long story.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, a story that we do not have the time to tell at present. But I will tell you this much. Most of The Council members are the monsters that humans fear; they are why we are hunted by your Guild. But the day grows late, my vampires will rise soon and I believe this would not be the best time for introductions.” We all stood to leave. “Miss Piper, I would like to help you find your father, if he has not been killed. I wish to end both the war between vampires and the war between vampires and humans. I believe that the first step to the later is to disprove the stereotypes about my kind. Here,” He said, reaching out to hand her a business card, “my contacts, please call, and after tonight you will always be welcome back to this lair. However, do call first; you would never get those doors open without one of us.”

  Then, perhaps in one of the most unexpected moves of the day, Carmen said a trembling, “Thank you.”

  We all rose and began walking through the underground hideaway back to the stairs. No vampires had yet risen. In silence, we followed Amun and his blue flame up to the street level shop.

  “This is where we part ways,” Amun said, as we reached the top landing. “I truly hope that this meeting has enlightened you that we, the vampires, are not all ruthless monsters. Please call me and we will talk more.” He didn’t say another word, just turned and walked back into the darkened stairwell.

  Outside the shop, dusk had begun to fall. With the sun low on the horizon, the shadows of the city already looming, we made our way back to the car. It was hard to make sense of our day. Everything inside told us to run away from him. “Don’t trust him!” Our insides screamed to us. Lives of hunting, fighting, and killing made it hard to trust anyone, especially one that was supposed to be an enemy. But not one of us, not even Terry Goodspeed, could deny that we felt we should. No matter how much we didn’t want to.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Back at the manor, we were in for a load of shit. We knew that Edward wouldn’t be happy with our actions. But on the other hand, we weren’t too happy with him.

  As we pulled up to the gates, the shit started. “Welcome back, sir,” the guard said, as Terry handed IDs to him. “Sir, you are ordered to park the car and follow our escort to Edward’s office.” He handed the IDs back to Terry. “Sorry, sir.”

  Goodspeed just nodded. “Don’t be. You’re just doing your job.” Then he pulled the car forward with guards trotting alongside.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Don’t worry, Edward just thinks he runs the show totally. He still hasn’t realized that we don’t take orders from him. This is just his way of trying to intimidate us.”

  “Oh,” I said, and had to let a grin crack, “he’s really good at this intimidation thing.”

  “He’d like to think so,” Carmen replied.

  We parked, and then headed into the building. By this time night had fallen, but the courtyard was bright with floodlights.

  We were quickly shuffled toward Eddy’s office. God, I hated that man. One of the guards knocked on the door. Edwards’s voice came through the door. “Enter.” As ordered, the door was opened and we preceded in. “You may leave,” he spoke to our escort. “I’m sure we won’t have any more trouble from them.”

  I tore into laughter. “Oh, Eddie baby, I haven’t even begun to be trouble to you.” Yep, crush the little fucker’s pride. He turned red with anger, but nodded to the guards to leave.

  “Mr. Black, did
n’t I warn you about associating with the wrong people?” Every word hissed with hatred.

  “Yeah, you did, Eddie. That’s why I don’t talk to you if I can help it.”

  He got redder. “Well, what did you learn on your little outing today?” He was trying to be condescending, but it just wasn’t working for him.

  “I thought The Guild wanted nothing to do with this?” Goodspeed asked, sounding as composed and professional as possible, did a damn good job if you ask me.

  I looked over at Carmen. I could tell that she didn’t want to be in that room, and I was sure she didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want her hurting any more than she already was. I had to end that meeting as soon as I could.

  “Look, I know that the three of you went to do some reconnaissance to avenge William’s abduction. We have heard nothing further from his captors and we are presuming him to be dead.” He stared at Carmen as he said it. Holy fuck, I wanted to kill him right then. “We have decided that Amun and his band of rogue vampires are to be exterminated. We cannot have those vampires committing acts like this. They have become too dangerous.” He stopped to wait for our reaction, which he didn’t get. “Now what information did you gather today?”

  “Sorry, Eddie. We didn’t find anything out.”

  I loved annoying him. “And if you had.”

  “You know, Eddie baby, my mommy never taught me to share. And seeing as you and The Guild wanted no actions taken, and I am still just a free agent and take orders from no one, I put Mr. Goodspeed and Mrs. Piper on my payroll for this job. I guess you could say I sub-contracted them.” I thought that he would have a heart attack right then, too bad he didn’t. “Since you wanted nothing to do with this, there is no information that we are going to share.”

  He raised one bony finger toward me. “Watch your attitude, Mr. Black.” There was nothing but contempt in his stare. He hated me as much as I hated him.

  Out of pure spite I smiled at him. “Eddie, are you upset with me?” He said nothing. “Does this mean we aren’t friends anymore?” Again nothing. “Why don’t you calm down, go take some Viagra, get to the cemetery and find your wife.”

  “Your attitude is getting old,” he coldly retorted.

  I began to walk toward the door. I paused and turned back to look at him. “Edward, if you ever take a condescending tone with me again, or have me followed, I’ll come back here and break your fucking hip. Do we understand one another?”

  I didn’t wait for a response. Since he didn’t bother me anymore that night, I figured he got my point. I did see Terry and Carmen later that night.

  A half hour after I walked out of Edwards’s office, a knock came at my door. I had my guns out pointed at the door. “It’s us.” It was Carmen. I put the guns away.

  “It’s open.”

  “Do you take some kind of joy in rubbing people the wrong way?” Terry asked me. He seemed a little pissed about something.

  “Some people,” I told him, and grinned. “The two of you seem not to mind me.” I didn’t get a response. So I moved on. “What did he say after I left?”

  “It seems that The Guild has decided to destroy Amun and his followers.” It was starting to look like Amun was right about the reasoning behind the attack on us and of William’s kidnapping. “So what’s going to happen?”

  “We don’t know yet,” Terry spoke so coldly. I was starting to wonder why he was so pissed off. Carmen had also grown colder toward me, which bothered me even more. “We just wanted to give you an update on that.” He turned and left.

  Carmen looked up at me. Her brown eyes were filled with worry and fear. She tried to smile at me. I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What’s going on? The two of you have hardly said a word to me since we were at the shop. What did I do?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Holding her gaze, I saw more than just fear, there was also hurt. She looked like I had betrayed her. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Tell you what?” I was incredibly confused at this point.

  “Your powers! Why didn’t you tell us you were a witch, or whatever the hell you are?”

  I wanted to laugh. Me? A witch? That was just a funny thought. “I still have no clue what you are talking about.” That was the second time someone had called me a witch.

  “You know when they are around you can feel them in the next room. For fucks sake, you held the stare of a master vampire, Black.” Oh no, last name, not a good thing. “Not only a master, but a master that is well over three thousand years old!”

  “Carmen,” I spoke softly in the hopes that she would calm down, “I truly have no clue what you are talking about. Why should I not be able to look at a vampire's eyes?”

  “They can control people. They can look right into your fucking mind.” Her worry turned to anger. “No one has your power without knowing it.” And just like Terry, she turned and left. Stormed out is a better description. I was left alone completely dumbfounded. What the fuck just happened? I did know what was wrong and I hadn’t expected such a display from them. Not until I did something stupid. Odds are I would.

  The next few days went by without me seeing much of anyone. I started to think that I should go home, but I couldn’t bring myself to. I was too deep in this. I spent my days in the extensive library learning all that I could about vampires and their world. It was all very fascinating. I learned about vampire wars fought over petty matters. Even after millennia of living, some of these vampires were just as pigheaded and vain as the humans that they hunt. After reading about the levels of power that vampires grow through, I could see why Carmen and Terry were so put off by our last adventure. And though I understood why they thought I kept something from them, I really hadn’t. I had to find them and talk to them. They were my only friends in this place. Normally I didn’t need friends, but this wasn’t a normal situation. I had to find them.

  I began to search the grounds looking for ether of them, but to no end. They weren’t on the grounds or they were doing a very good job of avoiding me. I was about to give up my search and find my way to some food, when my phone rang. The caller ID read “Carmen”. Good timing, I thought. I hoped that she was calling to reconcile whatever problems we were faced with.

  “Vinny?” She said, as I answered.

  I was relieved that she hadn’t reverted back to my last name. “Yeah.”

  “I just wanted to… well… I just needed to talk to you.” Then there was a brief pause. “I’m… sorry for the way Terry and I have acted toward you.”

  That must have been hard for her to say. Carmen was not the type of woman to say sorry for anything. “Don’t fret about it.”

  “It wasn’t right of us.”

  I let out a short sigh. “I have an idea why the two of you are so freaked out. But I want you to know that I had no clue about any of this. I still don’t know what it all means.”

  “You have a power over them, the vampires.” She paused. “It’s a power you should have known about. Even without being around vampires. You see, Vinny; it’s not just over vampires it’s over all living things. You can read people’s emotions, even their thoughts and feelings.”

  “Just instinct,” I replied.

  “No, Vin, it’s much more than that. Let’s get some lunch and talk about it.”

  “Alright.”

  I could hear a smile cross her face. “Thank you. Meet me outside the main entrance.”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah, unless you have a cuter date.” I was glad she was joking with me again.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Good, I’ll see you there in a minute.” Then she hung up. And I made my way to the main entry.

  She was already waiting when I arrived. She was probably there when she had called me. She gave me a small smile when I came into sight. “Hey, Vinny.” The phone seemed easier then talking to me in person. She seemed hesitant, almost scared of me. Not scared of harm, but scared.

  “What’s wrong?”
I asked her.

  “I’m still just embarrassed with the way I’ve treated you.”

  “Well knock it the hell off.” Her eyes grew, she really thought I was angry, but as soon as I smiled the fear subsided. “It’s water under the bridge, Hun. I’m not worried about it and you shouldn’t be either. Now where are you taking me for lunch?”

  “I’m taking you?”

  “You invited me.” I laughed. “In this modern age, a woman such as you should have no troubles taking a man out for a date.”

  “I suppose you are right.” She returned a large smile. God I love her smile. Despite being a version of death with nicer legs, she seemed so warm and innocent, at least when she wasn’t shooting at vampires. “Come on, I’m hungry and I really need to get off the estate.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” We walked to the car, laughing and joking about nothing in particular. It was nice. I wanted to ask about William. I hadn’t heard anything about him since the last time we’d spoke. But as much as I wanted to know about the situation, I didn’t want to ruin her good mood. I was positive that she needed some escape time from her father’s capture.

  The car ride to the restaurant passed in the same manner, just talking about nothing, just enjoying the company of each other. That is until a question started to bother me. I wondered if Terry had wanted to make amends as well, after all he wasn’t there and she had said nothing of him. I’m not used to friends. I normally don’t need them. However, the few days that I was without Carmen and Terry, I had missed my friends very much. It was nice to be back with Carmen.

  “What’s Terry up to?” I had to ask.

  “Out of town.” Hum, maybe he wasn’t still pissed at me. “The powers that be thought it would be a good idea to send him on a hit.”

  “Anyone of importance?” I was wondering if the hit was Amun.

  “Not that I know of. I think just some low life that has indulged his blood lust a bit too much.”

  “Have you been in contact with Amun anymore?”