Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations

by Thomas A. Watson

  Putting her pack on her back, Besseta couldn’t help but be impressed. “Yes, I left four.”

  Tiffany grabbed her small pack and started going through clothes. “Well, I’ve helped in your quest before. I can do it again.”

  Laughing, Besseta walked over and helped Tiffany choose the clothes. “Just don’t try to explain the errors of their ways before you feed,” Besseta advised.

  “I just wanted them to know why they had to die,” Tiffany answered. Besseta just laughed, pulling tags off the clothes before handing them to Tiffany.

  The sun was setting as they walked out of the hotel. They took a cab to the house Besseta didn’t get to visit before leaving. She forgot how easy it was to hunt with Tiffany. When someone could open a door and lock everyone up with their thoughts, it made hunting effortless, almost like cheating.

  It wasn’t long before they were underway, running down roads in a blur. Besseta had to keep a slow pace so Tiffany could keep up. What Besseta considered a slow pace was an all-out sprint for Tiffany.

  Three hours later, when Besseta stopped at the Kentucky state line, Tiffany stopped beside her, leaning over and gasping for air. “My word, Besseta, I know you want to get back to Kenneth, but can you slow down some?” she panted.

  “Sorry, I thought I was running at a normal pace,” Besseta apologized.

  Brushing the apology off with her hand, Tiffany stood up. “I have to say I really like running on roads much better than through forest.”

  Besseta nodded. “Yes, I’ve hit more trees than I hate to admit.”

  “I hit a boulder one time so hard it exploded. I still don’t know how long I was knocked unconscious,” Tiffany told her.

  “In the Alps, I cleared a tree line and found a ravine in front of me. I tried to stop but fell in,” Besseta recalled. “I fell almost a thousand feet. I made a two-foot-deep hole where I landed. Like you, I don’t know how long I was out, but I know I had to wait a day for my bones to heal so I could leave.”

  “Like I said, I am very fond of roads,” Tiffany stated with her breathing back to normal.

  Smiling, Besseta pulled out a phone and started the phone tag. It was an hour later when Maliki’s voice answered, “Little Besseta.”

  “Maliki, we need to talk face to face,” Besseta said. “I need to send you something. Do you have an e-mail you can receive fast and never go back to?”

  “Of course,” he said and gave it to her.

  Pulling the phone away from her face, Besseta tapped the screen, sending the file to Maliki. “Call this number in one hour, and let me know if you got the file,” Besseta said and gave him the number. “We have to move,” she finished before Maliki could answer and hung up the phone.

  Tiffany laughed. “I bet he doesn’t like to be led along.”

  “Shit, I don’t care,” Besseta replied, putting the phone up. “I want this war over before it becomes more violent.”

  The laughter left Tiffany’s face. “Besseta, don’t give in to false hopes,” she warned. “This war will last until it’s won by one side or the other. There will be no surrender for either side. Servitude for us and humans if they win and death for all of them if we win.”

  “I know; I just don’t want to spend what time I have with Kenneth fighting this war,” Besseta explained.

  Understanding, Tiffany reached over and held her hand. “Then we shall attack them relentlessly so you can put more bruises on Kenneth.”

  Stomping her little foot, Besseta whined, “I really try not to.”

  Laughing, Tiffany squeezed Besseta’s hand. “Are we still heading to Nashville for the phone call?” she asked.

  “Yes, would you like to lead?” Besseta smiled.

  “Please,” Tiffany said, letting Besseta’s hand go and disappearing in a blur down the road. The vehicles on the road just saw a fleeting image dart past them in the darkness.

  Unlike those in the vehicles, Besseta could follow Tiffany easily with her eyes. “Wow, I can run fast,” Besseta admitted and took off after Tiffany. Just outside of Nashville, Tiffany stopped and walked off the highway, sitting down in the grass as Besseta appeared in front of her. “I’m surprised you kept up with me out of Chicago,” Besseta said, walking over and taking out the phone.

  Breathing hard but not gasping for air, Tiffany said, “Besseta, it took everything I had to maintain that pace.”

  As Besseta sat down, she looked at her phone and saw it was almost time for Maliki to call. “Sorry about that,” she said, leaning back.

  Flopping back on the grass, Tiffany explained, “I just can’t wait till you tell me how you were able to do that.”

  A ring broke the silence, and Besseta answered the phone. “Right on time.”

  “You said one hour,” Maliki said in a distracted tone.

  “I take it you got the file?”

  “Yes, I’m reading it again,” Maliki said in a worried tone. “How sure are you?”

  Besseta thought for a second. “Fairly certain.”

  “Did your initiate come up with this?” Maliki asked.

  Not wanting to implicate Kenneth too much but also needing to maintain his usefulness to the League, she said, “Most of it he did, but I have other help now, and together, we came up with this.”

  A long pause followed. “This is very disconcerting,” Maliki finally said.

  “Wait till you get the research I’m going to give you that we used to come to this conclusion,” Besseta told him.

  “Miami tomorrow night,” Maliki answered.

  “Uh no,” Besseta said. “You’re around too many people, and if we’re right, the ones running the group after us will stop at nothing to come after us.”

  “Reasonable,” Maliki agreed. “Where then?”

  “The second paragraph of the file, take the first letter of each word, and it will tell you where. The third paragraph using the same technique will give you a new number to call if you need to contact me beforehand.”

  “Impressive,” Maliki said.

  “And Maliki, don’t tell anyone unless you trust them with your life,” Besseta warned.

  Maliki laughed, and Besseta thought it sounded rather malevolent. “Little Besseta, I trust no one with my life except myself,” he told her.

  “Then I suggest you don’t tell anyone, not even the ones you bring, and may I suggest you search them.”

  “Of that, you can be certain. I’ve been studying up on this new electronic world,” Maliki replied. “How am I to be certain you aren’t bringing an uninvited guest?”

  Smiling, Besseta closed her eyes, breathing in her nose and slowly turning around. “Of that, you can be certain. Once they figure out how efficient my initiate is, they will either kill him or capture and use him,” she said, looking to the south. Reaching over, Besseta spun Tiffany around and pulled an atlas out of her pack.

  “I’m extending much trust to you on this, you understand,” Maliki said as Besseta looked through the atlas.

  “Huh,” Besseta scoffed, “I’m the one who’s taken the battle to them, not you. You sit and tell others to fight. How is your risk greater than mine?”

  A chuckle sounded over the phone. “Always the one to never be impressed, but I can see your point,” Maliki replied. “I hope the spot isn’t far and I can make the meeting.”

  This time, it was Besseta who chuckled. “You’re only three hundred or so miles from it.”

  Maliki gave a small gasp. “There’s no way.”

  “No, I didn’t follow the file, but I have a good idea where you are,” she smirked.

  “I know you didn’t follow the file,” Maliki told her. “I have several humans here with me who are beyond excellent in this electronic world.”

  “Well, then you are learning, Maliki,” Besseta replied.

  Besseta could tell Maliki was smiling as he spoke. “Till the meeting then,” he said, hanging up.

  Besseta pulled the memory card out of the phone, broke it, and scattered the piec
es. “That seems such a waste,” Tiffany observed. “Those screen phones have so much to offer, and you are constantly destroying them.”

  Putting the memory card in her pack, Besseta looked up. “They are really easy to trace, Tiffany, even when they’re turned off. I have a laptop at home that can pinpoint cellphones and even turn them on if they’re off.”

  Letting out a sigh, Tiffany said, “I remember when what we spend on those things would feed a family for years.”

  A smile crept across Besseta’s face. “You are just relating breaking phones to destroying books.”

  Tiffany’s face immediately turned to stone with anger. “Those that destroy books are agents of chaos and deserve a fate that makes men pale in fear.”

  Holding up her hands to relax Tiffany, Besseta reminded her, “They aren’t books, and I’ve helped you stop some of those book burnings.”

  Tiffany took a deep breath to relax. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Anyone idiotic enough to destroy books doesn’t deserve to breathe the air as well as those that cheer them on.”

  “Believe me, I know how you feel, and you say I go too far sometimes on my quest.” Besseta grinned. “I’ve seen you wipe out almost whole towns that burned books.”

  Tiffany shook her head. “Who gets to pass judgment saying what is worthy of being passed down through the ages?” she asked then grinned. “What I didn’t get to in Spain, you took care of.”

  “Of course.” Besseta smiled, bouncing on her toes. “They were the same inquisitors that tried to burn me as a witch.”

  Seeing little Besseta bounce on her toes, Tiffany laughed. “Where do you want to go now?”

  “How about we just run down to Mississippi and stay in the park till Maliki shows?” Besseta offered.

  “Fine, but I get to lead,” Tiffany said and flashed away.

  “You know where we’re going. It’s not like you can’t catch up,” Besseta smiled and disappeared in a gust of wind.

  Chapter 9

  They reached Mississippi before sunrise and just sat beside a small river, waiting until nightfall. It was mid-morning when Besseta pulled out a bottle and started rubbing lotion over her exposed skin.

  “We don’t get sunburned, Besseta. Your skin will always be the tone it was the day you turned,” Tiffany smiled.

  “No, Kenneth thought of this,” she explained. “When I told him how sunlight really affects us, he bought me several kinds, and we tested them. With this one, I’m not as weak.”

  Tiffany gasped. “Of course, the UV light that damages the virus is blocked to some degree.”

  Besseta looked up. “That’s why we’re weaker in daylight? The virus is damaged?”

  “Not really the virus but where it’s inserted into our DNA. The UV light is constant, and our body can’t keep up with the repair,” Tiffany explained, reaching over for the bottle. “Kenneth is beyond remarkable.”

  Brushing her red curls out of her eyes, Besseta stared at Tiffany. Her long, black hair was hanging down past her face as she studied the bottle of suntan lotion. “You never thought about that?” Besseta asked.

  “No,” Tiffany admitted. “I found if I wore thick leather, it negated the light, but I had to be completely covered, including my face. Even direct sunlight into the eyes is enough to weaken us.”

  Thinking of that, Besseta dug in her pack and pulled out her sunglasses. “These block the UV light, but I can’t see in the detail I’m used to,” Besseta said, holding them up. “I can’t focus on objects over a few hundred yards.”

  As Tiffany looked up, she brushed her hair back and took the glasses to examine them. “Let me guess: Kenneth?”

  Besseta sighed. “Yes. He thinks I’m china glass, remember, and everyone in California wears sunglasses.”

  Putting the glasses on, Tiffany nodded. “They aren’t that bad.”

  Taking the bottle of lotion, Besseta put some in her hand. Holding one of Tiffany’s arms, Besseta started to apply the lotion to her golden skin. “I wish I would’ve had your skin tone,” she commented.

  “It wouldn’t go with your hair.” Tiffany smiled, looking at Besseta’s red hair.

  “Yes, I have to agree with you on that,” Besseta giggled. “When I was in the Far East, I had to dye my hair black to blend in and found out pale skin with black curly hair is atrocious on me.”

  “When I was in the Far East, I had to paint my skin to make it appear pale. I was constantly sticky like being dipped in honey,” Tiffany joined in the laughter.

  When Besseta was done applying the lotion, she closed the bottle. “Can you tell a difference?”

  “Yes I can actually,” Tiffany answered, nodding.

  “I have another one at home that does work better, but it feels weird on your skin. It blocks all UV light,” Besseta said, putting the bottle back in her pack.

  Taking the sunglasses off, Tiffany handed them back. “Do you have a currency we can use around here? I have a few gold coins, but most establishments I’ve been to in the last century don’t like taking them.”

  In a fit of laughter, Besseta fell back on the grass. Watching her, Tiffany smiled, thinking of Besseta as a little sister she had always longed for. When she could, Besseta sat up. “In your IDs were credit cards. You can use them anywhere. Just make sure you use the right card with the ID you’re using.”

  “I’ve read of those cards, and they sound an awful lot like what the Templars used. Are you certain of this?” Tiffany asked.

  Besseta stopped laughing, wiping a tear out of her eye. “The Templars were knights in the Crusades, right?” Tiffany nodded. “They had credit cards back then, and we just rediscovered them?” Besseta asked.

  “Well, it wasn’t a card,” Tiffany explained. “It was a sheet of parchment. You took your money to a Templar stronghold, and they gave you a parchment in code that said how much money you had. On the way to the Holy Land, you could use that sheet of parchment to buy stuff, and when you reached the Holy Land, you took the parchment to the Templars. They would look at it and know how much you spent and give you the change.”

  “Wow, a debit card,” Besseta said in amazement.

  “Debit card?” Tiffany asked, confused.

  Not wanting to confuse Tiffany, Besseta shook her head. “Forget it,” she said. “The credit cards you have with your IDs have a limit of fifty thousand dollars, so don’t go over that.”

  Digging out the small ID holder, Tiffany pulled out the driver’s license and several other cards. “Is this one?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Besseta said and reached over. “The one with two circles is also one.”

  “How much are sunglasses?”

  “I don’t know,” Besseta replied, shrugging.

  “More than fifty thousand?” Tiffany asked.

  “I hope not or Kenneth would probably faint,” Besseta answered. “How did you buy all that equipment and stuff you need?”

  “I told you, gold coins,” Tiffany answered. “I would find out how much it was then look at what gold was trading for and take them gold coins. Most liked it, but some merchants wouldn’t trade unless I took my gold and changed it to paper money.”

  “You have credit cards now, so you don’t have to use gold,” Besseta grinned.

  Standing up, Tiffany looked down. “I want to buy some sunglasses.”

  Jumping up, Besseta threw her backpack on. “Well, let’s go and get you some.”

  Tiffany grabbed her backpack and followed Besseta. “You amaze me, Besseta. You have always kept up with the latest on human interactions.”

  As Tiffany moved up beside her, Besseta hooked her thumbs in her backpack straps. “I had to, Tiffany,” she said. “I can’t move around in this world chasing those that I’m after if I don’t understand the latest trend.”

  “You spend more time interacting with humans than almost any vampire I have ever known,” Tiffany stated.

  “Kind of hard to hunt murderers and criminals if I don’t move amongst humans,” Besseta rep
lied.

  Tiffany nodded in understanding. “Yes, but you could,” she pointed out. “Most of our kind stay on the fringe of civilization, but you move through the middle of it.”

  Not understanding where Tiffany was taking the conversation or what point she was trying to make, Besseta asked, “So what are you trying to say?”

  “Oh nothing,” Tiffany answered, and Besseta groaned. “I’m just making a point, Besseta, that you are still living a life in society.”

  “No, not really,” Besseta said in a low voice as she looked down. “I move among them, talk among them, but I’m not one of them.”

  “You’ve had more human acquaintances than anyone, and by acquaintances, I mean just someone to talk to. Most of our kind only have the kind of acquaintances they feed off of,” Tiffany clarified.

  “I suppose.” Besseta shrugged.

  Reaching over, Tiffany held Besseta’s hand as they walked. “That part of you is still very human.”

  “Well, aren’t we still human? Just a different type?” Besseta asked.

  “No, we look like them and were once them, but our evolution is completely altered. We may be similar in many ways, but on the whole, we are very different,” Tiffany explained.

  “Huh,” Besseta scoffed, “we aren’t more evolved. They don’t have to bite someone to procreate their species. Humans can have babies.”

  Gently squeezing Besseta’s hand as they walked, Tiffany turned away. “Yes, and that is their ultimate advantage over us; they will always have more. With the way they are developing weapons to destroy one another, humans can actually make us extinct now.”

  “Sometimes I don’t think that would be a bad thing,” Besseta responded.

  Still looking away, Tiffany confessed, “Sometimes I don’t either.”

  “How have you remained sane for so long?” Besseta asked.

  A laugh burst from Tiffany. “Sane?” She shook her head. “There have been many times I have lost my perception of reality, but I always seem to regain some normalcy. Studying is my rock that I always fall back on.”

  Hand in hand, they walked along the road as the sun rose higher. “Tiffany,” Besseta said after a while. “Will you stay with me after Kenneth is gone?” she asked in a low, worried voice.