17*The Crimson Victory: The Crimson Vampire Coven (The Crimson Coven Book 17)

by B. A. Stretke

  “True, but I hope whatever it is, that it’s interesting at least. I’m getting bored with traffic offenses and property damage.” Noa answered.

  “Yeah, me too,” Lenny added.

  Their attention was caught, and silence ensued as they drove up on the field in question. It looked like the work of a flame thrower or a dragon perhaps. The center swath of grass and trees were reduced to ash the outer was scorched and crushed, but the fire didn’t penetrate the woods just the outer edge and the center swath of the field. It wasn’t natural.

  They pulled up next to a car parked on the road and got out surveying the area carefully as they approached the vacant vehicle. It was slightly burned like the field and there was electricity in the air. Lenny kept watching as Noa searched the car. “Rented.” He said as he walked over to Lenny. “The name on it is Karam Penfold and he rented it at the airport.”

  They both looked out at the razed field and shook their heads as they walked through the gate. The supernatural was thick in the air. They were dealing with something powerful and unpredictable and unfortunately, it was no longer there.

  “Over here,” Noa stated and began running towards the edge of the charred woods. He bent down and pushed away a pile of burned brush and there lay a man beaten and burned but still breathing.

  “He’s looking pretty rough. What do you think did this? I can’t get a read on its scent or trail, but I can feel that it has power.” Lenny stood next to where Noa was crouching keeping alert in case the thing returned. Noa leaned down and touched his nose to the man’s chest and inhaled deeply.

  “It’s sulfur.” He stated. “Whatever attacked him came from another realm. Call the Sheriff. He needs to notify the Coven.” Noa brushed the dirt and ash from the prone man’s face. “Have them prepare medical care. I don’t think they want this guy going to the hospital.”

  “You really think he’s going to survive what happened to him? Those are electrical burns and it looks like he probably lost a lot of blood.” Lenny didn’t look convinced.

  “He seems strong and fighting to come back, so I think he has a chance.” Noa shrugged.

  Within minutes the area was swarming with Crimson personnel. The injured man was spirited away, and the area cleaned. Lenny and Noa wrote up their report as a small campfire that had gotten out of hand. All neat and tidy for the consumption of the locals. The explosion was explained as being caused by an accelerant that was used to start the fire. The strangeness they did not address.

  …

  Lucas and Trent were notified of an incident outside of town that was being secured and to be alert to any energies or individuals of question. That meant only Coven members were allowed in and out, for the time being; no strangers and no outsiders.

  They were also informed of a victim, a human victim, that was being brought in for treatment from an attack. Lucas felt for the human victims of the supernatural. As a Vampire and a Crimson Guard, he was aware of what was out there and what they were capable of doing. But a human was ill-informed, ill-prepared, and too weak to defend themselves against most that inhabited the supernatural world.

  They both watched as the Medical van pulled up, paused and with a nod continued inside. They’d been expecting them so had the gate open, but as soon as the van was inside the gate was sealed once again.

  “Poor bastard,” Trent commented with a shake of his head.

  “Yeah, too often humans are caught in the crossfire.” Lucas took a deep breath and scented cotton candy on the breeze. It was one of his favorite smells and he drank deeply of it. He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but it was a welcome reprieve on such a day.

  …

  “Who is he?” Cullen came into the room addressing Dr. Rashad who had taken on primary care for the patient.

  “I don’t know his name, sir.” Dr. Rashad answered glancing up briefly from where he was stitching the man’s chest. “I can tell you that he has suffered lacerations to the face and upper torso contributing to significant blood loss. Head trauma along with severe burns to his hands and three broken ribs. The extent of his injuries leads me to believe that he may be more than just human. No mere human could have sustained this level of injury and lived.” Dr. Rashad reported what he knew.

  Commander Raines walked into the room and stood beside Cullen. “I have the police report sir, the real one, not the sanitized version.” He stated.

  “Let’s hear it,” Cullen ordered but kept his eyes trained on the patient.

  Commander Raines read off the initial report of a disturbance which the deputies responded to. Then he reported the findings of the deputies. “Noa and Lenny stated the fire was caused by an electrical charge. They also smelled sulfur on the victim when they first came upon him, but it dissipated by the time my men arrived. They didn’t recognize the scent or the trail of the attacker, so it wasn’t anything from their territory within the underworld.” Cullen did not comment but listened closely.

  “The victim’s car was parked on the roadway about five hundred yards from where they found him. It too suffered electrical burns but was not completely engulfed. The car was a rental and registered to Mr. Karam Nour of Philadelphia. Nothing was found on the victim. His clothes were destroyed in the attack and no further identification was found. The car has been placed in the mechanic’s garage and the area of the incident has been cleared and cleaned to look like a common brush fire.” Commander Raines finished and waited to receive Cullen’s orders.

  Before Cullen could respond Master Alexander Stone stepped into the room and walked over to the man on the table. Dr. Rashad looked up and acknowledged the Master before continuing to administer it to the patient.

  Master Stone reached for the patient’s wrist and turned it over showing a black tattooed symbol on the inside of his right forearm. Cullen stepped up beside him and looked at the mark but remained silent.

  “This symbol is ancient cuneiform and its meaning is something akin to ‘of the heavens’.” Master Stone explained. “It is the mark worn by Akkadian Knights.” Master Stone stated the last with firm intensity. The ramifications of having such a man in their care was very serious.

  Cullen stared at the man on the gurney and then looked up at Master Stone with slight uncertainty. “I’ve never met an Akkadian Knight, but I’ve heard the tales. I just assumed they would be larger and more menacing in appearance than the man who lies here.”

  “They usually are. I’ve met two in my lifetime and they were both impressively large and capable warriors.” Master Stone commented as he looked at the man carefully attempting to touch his thoughts and mind. “He has the protections of a Knight. I can’t read him and as you can see his wounds are rapidly healing.” Master Stone indicated the burns on his hands that were already peeling and revealing healthy pink skin beneath.

  “I would guess that he was tracking whatever it was that attacked him. Akkadian Knights are like the supernatural gatekeepers. They maintain a power balance between the realms.” Master Stone added and brushed the hair back from the man’s face. “He looks so innocent and vulnerable, more like a librarian than a warrior. Such a look doesn’t coincide with who he claims to be.”

  Master Stone stepped back and turned to regard Cullen. “Question him when he wakes and report to me.” Cullen nodded. “Also place a guard on him one inside this room and one on the outer door. He may look defenseless but if he is indeed an Akkadian Knight, we need to be prepared, they are formidable.”

  “Yes, sir,” Cullen said as his glance, once again, traveled the length of the man lying before them. Master Stone left the room and Cullen then trained his attention on Commander Raines.

  “Take your beloved Steph and the Guard Sean Ravenscroft to the area where this took place and see if they can pick up anything untoward with their singularly special awareness. As a Dark Fairy and a Dragon Knight, they may discover something we missed.” Raines nodded and left the room.

  Cullen turned back to the man, Karam, and wat
ched him for several minutes before posting Magnus to guard the man inside the room and Lucas to guard the door outside the room. Lucas had a special understanding of the worlds beyond this one, and perhaps his awareness would be useful here.

  …

  Lucas got the call and immediately headed inside. One of the soldiers took over for him until another guard arrived. When Cullen ordered your presence, you did not drag your feet. He was assigned to stand guard over the injured human that had recently arrived. The need for a guard or rather two guards caused Lucas to pause and wonder what it was that surrounded this human and why he was considered dangerous enough to require two vampire guards.

  Cullen met Lucas in the hallway outside the treatment room that held the human and Lucas gave him his full and focused attention, now was not the time to drift. Cullen would sense any distraction in an instant and all pretenses would end. He didn’t want to look lacking in front of someone like Cullen Volakis. If he did, he could find himself in treatment or on janitorial duties for a few years. Lucas had already done his time in the janitorial department several times over the years and he had no desire to return.

  Cullen gave him a rundown of the situation and informed him that Magnus was inside the room. “His name is Karam Nour and he may or may not be a threat, but he appears to be more than just human,” Cullen told him. “His attacker is still out there, so be alert. Remain here unless Magnus needs you inside.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lucas responded without question and took up his post in front of the door. Cullen moved past him and then turned back to regard him curiously. Lucas was shocked to see what looked like compassion in his eyes for just a split second.

  “Lucas you’ve had experiences that no one can even attempt to understand. I know that it has not been easy for you and I respect your determination in reclaiming your life. Stay strong.” He said and then left.

  Lucas just watched Cullen’s retreating back for several moments as he processed the fact that Cullen had both complimented him and showed support for his struggle. Cullen was not someone who showed such sentimentality. Lucas found that it strengthened his resolve to overcome the last of the terrors that dogged him and the limitations that continued to cloud his mind. The feelings of depression and inadequacy would not defeat him.

  Lucas remained at his post all that night and well into the following day. There had been no sounds from within the room, so he assumed Karam Nour had not regained consciousness. He was brought coffee and a sandwich because he was not to leave his post until the man awoke and was subsequently moved.

  Lucas was silently hoping the man woke soon because he was starting to get hungry. That aroma of cotton candy played around his nose all night and was still present and it was making him crave the stuff. Thankfully he hadn’t experienced any episodes of emotional weakness which tended to pervade his mind when silent and alone. The cotton candy aroma gave him something to concentrate on and helped keep him grounded. He was grateful for it but hadn’t a clue where it was coming from.

  …

  Karam felt himself coming to awareness but remained still. He didn’t know how long he’d been out but could feel some of his wounds still healing so it couldn’t be more than a day or two. He wasn’t sure where he was and didn’t want to alert anyone that he was awake just yet. He needed a moment to center himself and gather his defenses as few as they were. The beast had surely taken a chunk out of him but thankfully he’d survived. The claw marks were closed, and healing and his broken bones were on the mend.

  His brother Knights wouldn’t have been fooled out there in that field, so what had he missed? The creature had been there the entire time and yet he had not sensed its presence until it attacked him. He began to question his ability to handle this entity and also his decision to pursue it independent of the organization.

  The idea of calling the Doyen and admitting that he deliberately acted outside command for his own aggrandizement crossed his mind, but he dismissed it. He would be discharged, and he couldn’t lose his connection to the Brotherhood, it would leave him defenseless. Karam figured he just needed one more chance to try and neutralize this thing.

  It wasn’t the minor traveler that he thought it was, but he was still confident that his tracker would find it and the Breaker, a gun used to disperse matter and direct the particles would still work. He had to succeed, he had to show them he was more than an information processor.

  Karam could not stop the groan that passed his lips at the thought of going this alone. Hearing him rouse, whoever was in the room with him came over to stand by the side of his bed. “Easy now.” The voice told him. He sensed it was a man, a large man by the energy radiating off him.

  He slowly opened one eye to see a Crimson Vampire soldier leaning over him. Those men were hard to miss with their perfectly cut expensive suits and their dark and deadly appearance. Karam let out a slow measured breath as he opened both eyes and looked around.

  “Where am I?” He asked, deciding to lean into a perception of innocence and confusion. The man did not respond but pulled his phone out and spoke into it.

  “Magnus for Cullen Volakis.” He said and then added. “He’s awake.” He then returned the phone to his pocket and his attention back laser focused on Karam.

  It took a moment for the name to sink into Karam’s muddled brain but when it did the implications were immediate. Cullen Volakis was one of the most feared vampires in the country. He killed first and asked questions later. He was vicious and merciless, and Karam had no desire to meet him.

  Karam started shifting to the side to push himself to a sitting position on the edge of the narrow bed. His side was still tender, so it wasn’t a smooth move. The soldier, Magnus, he assumed moved in front of him to keep him on the bed. “Stay still, you’re hurt.” He said coolly as if discussing the weather.

  These Crimson characters were well known for their cool detachment and mechanistic behavior. They didn’t get worked up very often except of course a few years ago when Master Stone brought down the Vampire Council and literally took over the country. The Council tried to screw with Crimson and Crimson screwed them right back. One of the leaders in that epic battle was none other than Cullen Volakis and the tales that followed were terrifying and brutal.

  Karam did not want to be questioned by such a man. Volakis would first try to invade his mind which is near impossible since he has the protections of the Akkadian Knights. So, he would then simply tear Karam’s mind apart to get inside and if successful, could possibly leave him a babbling idiot at the end of it. Volakis didn’t care how things were done as long as the outcome was a victory.

  With a fake to his left, he jumped off the bed to his right and made for the door, but Magnus was twice as fast as Karam ever thought of being and stopped him with very little effort. Karam was wearing only his boxer shorts so he felt at a considerable disadvantage to the well-dressed Crimson soldier. He took Karam by the upper arm and turned him abruptly back towards the bed.

  “You cannot keep me here,” Karam shouted as he struggled with the guard. His healing wounds were doing him no favors and caused him considerable pain as he jerked around.

  “Yes, I can.” He said in that same flat tone.

  Karam noticed that Magnus was trying not to hurt him as he manhandled him back to the bed, so he took advantage of that by struggling harder. He was still sore but managed to flail his arms and kick out with his legs while yelling that he had rights, and they couldn’t stop him from leaving. He wasn’t sure what it was going to gain him, but he hoped, at the very least, to get out of that room before Cullen Volakis showed up.

  …

  Lucas heard the scuffle coming from inside the room but so far Magnus hadn’t called for assistance. He remained at his post and listened, but he couldn’t imagine that Magnus would need his help with one injured human. Cullen had insinuated that the guy might be trouble and might not be completely human, so Lucas considered his options and wondered as to Magnus’ capablen
ess.

  It wasn’t until the first scream penetrated the thick door and touched something deep inside Lucas that his mild interest suddenly shifted to a burning concern as he turned to face the door. It was a feeling that went straight to his instinct to defend. But defend what? It wasn’t Magnus making those mournful sounds. Then it happened again, and this time Lucas was powerless to resist as he burst through the door and into the room.

  The sounds so terror-filled tore through him and everything in his being demanded that he respond. Lucas was absolutely desperate to save and defend the originator of those cries. He didn’t understand it, but he knew it was imperative that he take action. In many ways, a vampire lived by their instincts and Lucas would never hesitate when such a need burst up from his very soul. The moment felt like a matter of life or death.

  Karam froze when the door slammed open and the most gorgeous being in all creation charged into the small room. He was another Crimson soldier, but he wasn’t there to assist Magnus in subduing him. This man seemed to be intent on freeing Karam from Magnus’ grip.

  Magnus hadn’t hurt him, just kept herding him back to the bed but this new man was not having it. He seemed enraged by Magnus for some reason. This man wasn’t as dark as the unusual Crimson soldier, he had dark blond hair and light brown eyes, but he was just as intense and just as fierce. He was something else for sure, all wild and manly. Karam could not tear his eyes away.

  “Lucas!” Magnus yelled at him and Karam thought that to be a perfectly wonderful name for such a gallant warrior. “What are you doing?” Magnus continued to take blow after blow defending himself but trying not to completely engage. Finally, Lucas grabbed him by the jacket and tossed him to the other side of the room well away from Karam.

  Karam stared at the amazing man who instantly took a defensive stance in front of him when Cullen Volakis entered the room looking less than impressed. Cullen quickly scanned the room taking in the destruction and Magnus who was gathering himself from the floor in the corner and then back to rivet Lucas with his cold gaze.