Immortal Coil: A Novel (Immortal Trilogy Book 1)

by McNally, James

  The attacking horde fell back and blended into a single mass. The vampires then began to move single file, subverting David’s katana, and effectively surrounding the two defenders. Antony and David stood back to back and spun around in an attempt to keep the attackers from blindsiding them. David managed to decapitate an attacker as she moved in to attack their weak point. Another attacker moved in to take her place. David decapitated a second attacker, and he realized numbly that the circle was closing in on them. Before David could recover from his momentary lapse in concentration, he was disarmed. He watched as the katana flew across the room and landed behind the recliner near the back window.

  “Forget it,” Antony said, seeing that David’s attention had been dangerously diverted from the attacking horde. “Use your hands. You are stronger than they are.”

  David pushed off his first two attackers, keeping himself from being pinned down. He back-peddled and was able to prevent another vampire from getting behind him. he maneuvered through the advancing horde. Antony struggled with the two holding him back, and a third attempted to take off Antony’s head with his bare hands. Antony shook off the embrace of the first two and wrapped an arm around the neck of the third. With an immense twist of his arm, Antony removed the vampire’s head. He tossed the dried husk to the floor.

  Still outnumbered four to one, the two defenders managed to keep themselves out of trouble for another several minutes.

  Then something odd happened. David and Antony had no defense as the remaining nine vampires converged on Antony only. David stood helplessly by as six vampires immobilized Antony’s right and left arms, and a single vampire held each of his legs and the last vampire held him around the torso. Antony struggled against the hold, but couldn’t seem to shake his captors. David moved forward to help Antony out of the bind, but the tall leader stepped into his way. David attempted to forcibly remove him, but the tall vampire grabbed David’s hand and twisted, forcing him to his knees. The leader then gripped David around the throat and lifted him right up off the floor.

  “I could snap your neck,” the tall vampire said in a delicate whisper. He turned and looked at Antony struggling against his captors. “And make him watch.”

  “Then why don’t you?” David asked struggling to make his seized vocal chords function.

  “I have questions, first. For one: where did that witch go? Make her appear here so I can kill her. If you don’t want to see your beautiful blond haired boy vampire shrivel into a useless pile of dust, bring out your witch.”

  “She’s safe from you and you won’t get her,” David said with a sneer. “Go on and kill me because you won’t have to her.”

  “We’ll see,” he said. “My second question: where is my roped boy?” this last was a snarl, and David felt the vampire’s grip on his neck tighten. With just a little more force, David was sure his head would simply pop off.

  “He, too, is out of your reach,” Antony said triumphantly.

  “Bring him to me!” The leader bellowed and lifted David up over his head as if he weighed no more than a feather pillow. He then slammed David to the floor on his back; the wood beneath him cracked. The vampire lifted his ivory capped staff over his head, intending to bring it down and crush David’s skull. He never got the chance. Without warning a black wolf crashed into him, knocking him off David and onto his back. The wolf then leapt onto the crowd of vampires holding Antony down. She caught one by the throat with her massive jaws and bit down, severing the creature’s neck. The head rolled to the floor and burst into a cloud of ash. She whipped her head to the side and tossed the husk of its body across the room.

  Once freed, David jumped to his feet and raced to the spot where his katana had landed. Feeling the reassurance of its sturdy hilt in his grip once again, David returned to the fight. Behind him the rust colored werewolf rushed into the crowd of vampires, severing a hand and then managing to bring down a second by pouncing onto his back. He bit down into the neck and tore the head from the body.

  The vampire leader watched as the two wolves tore through his horde. He gaped at his dwindling numbers, and then gave anguished cry of disappointment. He commanded the survivors to flee. He disappeared in a crackling whoosh of air just as the black wolf leapt for him. Maggie’s wolf landed on all four legs and skidded across the hardwood floor, having missed her target.

  Antony killed a lingering vampire who was apparently too stupid to realize his comrades were abandoning him.

  In all, five vampires escaped, as well as their leader. Antony rushed into the night but his quarry had scattered in too many different directions. Antony returned to the house where David stood in the middle of the living room with dried and crumbling body parts cluttering the floor around him. Dylan’s wolf sat in the corner worrying at his prize: a withered leg. Maggie’s wolf stood behind David, ready if the vampires were to return. Antony inspected the empty door frame. It needed to be repaired immediately. He thought perhaps a steel door was in order.

  “We had the element of surprise on our side this time, but that will not be the case if they return. If they have enough time to prepare we will be in serious danger.”

  “Then we won’t let them prepare,” David said.

  “What do you mean,” Antony asked.

  “We go to them, before they have time to recuperate.”

  “We do not know where they hide,” Antony said.

  “We found him once before, we can do it again.”

  Antony looked down at the wolf. He understood Maggie was controlling the wolf with her ability to astral project. The wolf looked back at him with those eerily human eyes and growled. The growl spoke volumes. The wolf was saying she would find him, and when she did she would rip out his vile throat.

  28.

  Randal moved through the night with a speed that caused the air around him to crackle and pop. Gardner rested peacefully on Randal’s chest, tucked safely into a cloth baby carrier strapped over Randal’s shoulders and around his waist. He reached the house in a half hour. By car the trip would have taken two hours.

  Upon arriving at the house, an au pair met him at the door. The au pair looked past him to the empty parking lot. She glanced at him questioningly. “Where is the car that brought you here?” she asked.

  “I ran,” Randal said.

  She huffed, disgruntled by his audacity. She took the baby and scurried away. There were housekeepers and other workers running around, doing what they must to keep the empty house in working order. Several offered their assistance to Randal. He sent them away. He wondered if they knew what he was. Apparently, at least one of them didn’t. She constantly brushed at his hair, tried to feed him cookies and straighten his clothes. When she finally moved off to perform other duties, Randal felt a great relief when she was gone. Just a few minutes more and he might have fed on her just to be rid of her.

  Once alone, Randal reached into his pocket and pulled out the stiff piece of paper and unfolded it. This was the picture of his family he had thought to shove into his pocket when the vampire had killed them, and turned him into the roped boy. He looked at the image of his mother, his father and his pain in the ass big sister. He missed them immensely, and although he led the others to believe he didn’t remember his human life, he actually remembered it in excruciating detail. He remembered how his father used to putter in the garage to avoid visits from his mother-in-law; and how his sister used to pass her desert to Randal under the table (hooray for anorexia), and especially how his mother used to insist on saying grace every thanksgiving, even though no one in the family ever attended church. His father always provided the same prayer for grace: “Good food; good meat; good God, let’s eat.” His mother hated this saying, but it always seemed to serve the purpose. And, besides, she wasn’t going to get anything else from either Randal or his sister.

  At the time it had seemed his life was one big dramatic mess; but now, as he stared down at the picture of his lost family, all he remembered were good times
.

  Randal refolded the paper and shoved it back into his pocket. He felt the rush of emotions washing over him and didn’t want to let it surface. He walked the house, watching as the staff busied themselves with their tasks. Some of the help seemed leery of him, some outright feared him, as if they sensed what he truly was. Antony had assured him, however, that no humans knew of their true nature. These people were nothing more than human servants getting well paid to care for a house no one lived in. Still, Randal couldn’t help but wonder what they thought.

  The au pair was not afraid. She stared at Randal suspiciously whenever he entered a room she was in. She wasn’t thrilled about Randal being close to Gardner, but she didn’t prevent him from spending time with the baby.

  When she felt Gardner had had enough attention from the wild-eyed boy, she would spirit him away, telling Randal it was time for a feeding, or a change of diapers. He sometimes believed she was not really doing those things, but merely keeping Gardner away from Randal.

  The thoughts caused the vampire boy to have impure thoughts about ripping the au pair’s throat open and drinking her blood. He would never act on such a thing, but if she showed even a hint at being the type of au pair that was less than trustworthy, she was toast.

  Randal paced, and grumbled whenever a servant tried to offer assistance to him. He didn’t want to be pampered—he wanted to be fighting the Dark Father with the others. He hated that they could be winning the fight and ridding the world of the foul monster without his help.

  He also thought of the alternate possibility; they could be losing the fight, and in effect leaving Randal and Gardner alone. He would be devastated if he was forced to live at the Jersey house, with servants taking care of Gardner for the rest of his life. Randal could not take it anymore. He had to go see what was happening in Philadelphia. He had to help them if the Dark Father and his new minions were more than his family could handle.

  Randal was just about to rush at sonic speed to Philadelphia when the phone rang. He waited for the servant to answer it. When the servant motioned for him to take the phone, Randal did. He placed the receiver to his ear.

  “Yes,” he said.

  He heard Maggie’s voice on the other end. “It’s over. You can bring Gardner home.”

  Randal placed the receiver in the cradle and left to collect Gardner. He secretly hoped the au pair would refuse to give up the baby. He’d love to teach her that little lesson.

  29.

  Randal took the picture of his family out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment. Still holding it, he walked into the living room and looked at every one in turn. “I have something to say.” He spoke slowly, hesitantly.

  David lifted an eyebrow. “Everything okay, Buddy?” He was remembering Randal’s talk of feeling like a monster.

  Randal nodded.

  Maggie smiled encouragingly at him and he continued.

  “I wanted to let you all know that I have been remembering my past life, my human life, little by little for some time now. I remember everything that happened to me, and to my family. I mean my family before you; because I don’t feel like an orphan at all. I feel like I have a new family that is just as caring and important to me as that past family had been. I never want to forget my human family, but that doesn’t mean I care about all of you any less. I hope you understand what I’m saying. I don’t think I’m explaining myself very clearly.”

  “You’re doing just fine,” Maggie said.

  David hugged Randal then pulled him down into the sofa beside him. “What brought all this on?”

  “I guess I wanted you all to know that I no longer have holes in my memory. I don’t want to have secrets…”

  Randal stopped and stared down at his hands. When he looked up, Maggie was there, smiling and urging him on with her eyes.

  “I also wanted to explain…my inability to…”

  Randal couldn’t finish. He couldn’t say…I also wanted to explain my inability to distinguish between innocent and guilty. He couldn’t do that because he didn’t want to lose their trust. So instead, he finished with something else.

  “…to fit in.”

  “With us?” Maggie asked. “Honey, you fit in just fine.”

  He stammered as he continued. He couldn’t meet Maggie’s gaze. “No, not just you. With all immortals. I feel lost. I feel trapped in this child’s body—this child’s mind. I…”

  He couldn’t finish. Instead, Randal stood and left the group to feed. He sped off into the night and hunted. Tonight he wanted to hunt for real, so he had ignored Maggie’s notes and wandered the dark streets in search for someone who would think Randal was a scared and vulnerable child. Maybe he would just take the first person who tried to help him; he didn’t see why they were limiting themselves to killers and other human waste. All humans were struggling to live a life that was only going to end in death anyway: he didn’t see the point to prolonging their pain.

  But for now he would respect Antony’s wishes and feed only on the scum of the earth. Still, he wondered what an innocent would taste like.

  In the end Randal took the man who had attacked him with a knife, but only because he had presented himself first. Maybe there were no innocent people out there. Who was innocent? Was the business tycoon who crushed the little people under his expensive shoe heel innocent? What about the corrupt cop that overlooked the drug deal just so he could pad his pocket with a little extra cash?

  Or what about the schoolteacher who ignored the rich kids beating up on the younger, more defenseless children just because she had a better rapport with the rich students; and wanted to stay in their good graces? Was she innocent?

  Randal was missing the point, and he knew it, but still he could not shake the feeling that he needed to taste the blood of someone other than the scumbag with the switchblade at his throat. Of course that was very satisfying too, watching the would-be attacker’s confusion when Randal turned from the scared young boy into the laughing, angry red-eyed monster that was about to tear out his throat.

  When Randal was finished with him, he took off the thug’s head with his own switchblade knife and tossed the remains into a dumpster. He was supposed to bring the corpses back for the incinerator, but he wanted to read about this in the paper tomorrow.

  Randal wiped the blood from the blade and pocketed the knife: it was a cool knife.

  Back at the house, Randal saw that David had set up a map of the Poconos on a cork board and colored pushpins marked the territories that were potential lairs. When Maggie saw him, she smiled and motioned for Randal to join her. Randal felt shame burn through him, remembering his desire to kill someone who Maggie would never consider fit to be a victim. He knew that if he went down that path, there might never be an opportunity to turn back. Would Maggie forgive him? Would Antony or David?

  He thought Maggie probably would, and David, too; but Antony would destroy Randal. And in that destruction would probably be the destruction of the group. He believed Maggie would never forgive Antony for his actions, and David would be torn between the Vampire who sired him, and the mother of his child. Randal would be no better than the Dark Father if he were to destroy this family. He made up his mind that innocent blood would stay off his lips.

  At least for now.

  When he saw that Maggie was packing her bags, he gave her a questioning gaze. David was attempting to change the baby.

  “We’re getting ready to head out to the Poconos with the Zephyr. We want to be as close to the lair as possible when we find it.”

  “What about Gardner?” Randal asked.

  “Gardner will stay at the Jersey house while we are out.”

  The group packed the Zephyr with everything they would need an extended road trip. They attached the Rav4 to the back of the RV in case a smaller vehicle was needed.

  David struggled to change the baby’s diaper and Maggie laughed as she watched. She used cloth diapers, distrustful of the plastic ones, and David was having
trouble manipulating the safety pin. She should have told him she had Velcro diapers, but she was too amused to give up the sight just yet. Eventually, David did figure it out.

  Once the comedy was over, they drove first to deliver Gardner to the au pair, and then it was off to the Poconos to catch a killer.

  30.

  The Vampire Master looked around at what was left of his soldiers. What a pathetic bunch they are, he thought. He glared at the two females and three males standing at attention in front of him. He no longer knew or cared about numbering them. His second in command was gone, and the rest were just fodder. The male to the far right was balancing on one foot; a swipe of the blonde man’s katana had severed the other above the knee. This one had barely made it back. The Master walked up to him and examined the missing foot.

  He tore off the head of this useless vampire.

  The male who had been standing next to the one-legged vampire tried not to meet The Master’s gaze when it fell upon him.

  “Do you have any idea how we will defeat these foul creatures?” he asked. The nervous mutterings he received in reply angered him. “I should destroy the lot of you and start over from scratch.” He snarled.

  “But I won’t. I don’t have enough time. They are hot on our trail: if I don’t attack again, and soon, they will be bringing the fight to me. I can’t allow that.”

  He stepped up to the next male in line. He placed his fingers in the vampire’s mouth and forced him to open wide. He pried the male vampire’s mouth open even wider as if he were looking into the mouth for cavities. He continued pulling the two jaws apart until the mouth ripped and the top half of the head broke away from the rest of the body. The vampire burst into dust.