Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations

by Thomas A. Watson

  “Besseta, that’s an S7,” Kenneth corrected. “That’s not just any car; it does stand out.”

  “It looks like a car to me. Granted it’s more rounded and really low to the ground, but it has four wheels and doors, so it’s a car,” she reasoned.

  “You bought both?” he asked, feeling his heart rate increase.

  “No,” Besseta said, waving her hand at him. “I bought this one for you,” she said, and Kenneth smiled. “Tiffany bought that one for you,” she added, and the smile fell off.

  He spun around. “Why did you do that, and how the hell did you come up with a Saleen S7?” he asked.

  Tiffany shrugged. “I asked the man Besseta talked to, what would be a cool car for a guy who really likes cars, and that’s what he told me. I asked if he could get one of the best of what he told me, and he said he could, and here it is.”

  “So you dropped—” Kenneth started, and Tiffany stomped her foot and held up her hand.

  “Say something about money, and I’ll call that man again and have half a dozen of them here,” she threatened.

  Kenneth stepped back. “Wow, I’m not sure how to proceed after that?” he admitted and was tempted to continue his rant but felt bad for even thinking of that.

  “I’ll be damned,” Besseta stated. “It worked. You really thought about it.”

  “He did?” Tiffany shouted. She ran over and hugged Kenneth. “What other car do you want?”

  Kenneth stood frozen. “I think we overloaded his brain,” Besseta said, walking over.

  Tiffany looked at Kenneth’s blank face. “Well, fix him,” she said, waving her hand.

  “How?” Besseta asked.

  “Take off your clothes. That always gets a reaction from him.”

  “What?” Kenneth said, shaking his head.

  “See? Just hearing that is enough to get him back,” Tiffany laughed as the puppies came over, jumping on her shoes.

  Kenneth looked between the two cars. “Tiffany, you bought me an S7 just to make a statement about me and money?” he asked, amazed and touched.

  “No, I wanted to do something nice for you for the puppies,” she admitted.

  Kenneth looked down at the puppies and then over at the S7. “You gave me a hug.”

  “Where’s my damn phone?” she said, patting her pockets but didn’t find it. She looked up and saw Besseta holding out her cellphone. Tiffany walked over and took it.

  Kenneth walked over, grabbing her hand. “I mean, thank you, but please don’t buy another one,” he begged as Tiffany turned the phone on. “I just got two; let me play with them before you get me another one,” he pleaded. “They might get jealous,” he added in a low tone.

  “What?” Tiffany asked in disbelief as Kenneth stepped away.

  Besseta moved over. “Kenneth thinks some cars are alive and talks to them,” she whispered.

  Tiffany looked around at all the cars then down at Besseta. “I do not understand; I know some cars talk, but that’s a computer.”

  “I don’t either, but he talked to some of his cars; I’ve seen him do it. The only one here he talks to is his Jeep,” Besseta told her.

  “Besseta, they’re cars,” Tiffany said, wanting a better explanation.

  Motioning back with her head, Besseta smiled. “He’s doing it now; it’s in his mind, but give it time,” Besseta smiled.

  Tiffany looked up, and Kenneth had his head on the roof of Eleanor and was rubbing his hand over it with a content smile. “And he thinks I’m weird with my babies.”

  “I think it’s an American guy thing,” Besseta offered.

  Shaking her head, Tiffany declared, “Well I’m glad I’m female and only had to learn to drive to be an American. If I would’ve had to talk to my car, I think I would’ve drawn the line there.”

  Soft words started reaching their ears. “See, told you.” Besseta smiled. “Before the end of the day, the car you bought him will tell him its name, according to Kenneth. He says only cars you bond with will do it, and girl cars are the best.”

  “So not only will it have a name but they have a sex?” Tiffany asked, feeling lost but trying real hard to understand.

  Besseta nodded. “Yeah, Kenneth said boy cars don’t work worth crap and have a lot of problems.”

  “Just how in the hell do you know if it’s a boy or girl when you buy it?” Tiffany asked, feeling a headache coming.

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

  “What if I bought him a boy car? I didn’t tell the man to send a girl car,” Tiffany protested. “Your car was named Eleanor, so that was easy and not fair.”

  “We’ll find out,” Besseta told her.

  Picking up the whining puppies, Tiffany asked, “What’s the Jeep’s name?”

  “Ginger,” Besseta answered as Kenneth moved over to the S7. Besseta smiled. “It’s a girl, and its name is Tina.”

  Tiffany sighed in relief. “Oh shit am I glad,” she said. “I would’ve bought him another one if it would’ve been a boy,” she admitted. “He never looked it over; how does he know?”

  “Don’t ask me because I don’t understand,” Besseta confessed.

  Reaching over, Tiffany grabbed Besseta’s arm. “He’s picking two movies tonight,” Tiffany told her. “The movies we pick stink.”

  “No, he’s picking three,” Besseta clarified.

  A smile filled Tiffany’s face. “Oh, that’s good. Why don’t you get lover boy to take you for a ride? I’ll take the babies home,” Tiffany offered.

  “Thank you,” Besseta said, leaning over and hugging Tiffany.

  “Do you get jealous of the girl cars?” Tiffany whispered.

  She shook her head. “Not so far. Kenneth told me the one he gave to Mickey and the Jeep loved me.”

  Totally lost, Tiffany spun around, calling Bonnie and Clyde. Laughing, Besseta walked over to Kenneth, who was leaning over the S7. “Can we go for a ride?” Besseta asked, and Kenneth grabbed her, pulling her to Eleanor.

  “Thought you would never ask,” he said, opening the passenger door. “She really likes you.” Not even going to ask, Besseta started figuring out the five-point seatbelt. As Kenneth backed out, he looked down at the dock and saw Tiffany holding her puppies and playing with Bonnie and Clyde on the water.

  He shivered as Tiffany ran around, and they chased after her, sending out little ripples each time their paws landed on the surface of the water. “And you wonder why Bonnie and Clyde jump in the lake so much,” Kenneth said, turning away.

  That night, Kenneth and Besseta were on the couch, waiting on Tiffany before starting the movies. Besseta had her feet in his lap as Kenneth attempted painting her little toenails. Besseta held up her hands, looking at her red fingernails. Admitting she liked it, Besseta looked down as Kenneth slowly moved the tiny brush over her toe.

  “That is concentration,” Besseta mumbled, reaching over to pet the dogs, who were lying beside her.

  Tiffany bounced in carrying the puppies and stopped, looking at Kenneth. Seeing the determination on his face and how careful he was not to touch the skin with the red stuff, she asked Besseta, “Does it hurt if it touches you?”

  “No,” she said, staring down at Kenneth. “But he pulls out this stuff that really stinks and wipes it all off and starts over.”

  “That’s what that smell is?” Tiffany asked, and Besseta nodded. “Why are you doing it?”

  “Kenneth said my feet and hands are pretty, and this would make them prettier,” Besseta told her. “I think he just likes it that it makes me more girly.”

  “I see many women and girls wear stuff like that but different colors,” Tiffany said, looking down at her hands and feet.

  Besseta huffed. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you how many colors they have for finger and toenails.”

  “It does look nice,” Tiffany said. “Can he teach me to do it?”

  “He’s learning. Kenneth wanted me to do it, and I wouldn’t because I’ve never eve
n seen it done. Kenneth’s done it before for Mickey’s girls. Besides, I like him doing it.” Besseta smiled.

  “So can he teach me?” Tiffany asked hopefully.

  “Kenneth,” Besseta called out, and he just looked at her toe as he slowly dabbed it with the tiny brush. “Kenneth,” she called again, and still, he dabbed carefully. In her mind and using her mouth, she shouted, “Kenneth!”

  Kenneth jumped a foot off the couch. “Damn it, don’t do that. I almost messed up,” he snapped, looking up at Besseta. “What?” he asked curtly.

  “Will you do Tiffany’s nails?” Besseta asked.

  Looking up at Tiffany, Kenneth saw her chewing on her lower lip with a hopeful expression. “Sure,” he shrugged and went back to work. “Start the movie,” he mumbled.

  Tiffany jumped up beside Besseta, letting the puppies out of her arms. “What’s first?”

  “The Eleanor movie,” Besseta said, lifting the remote.

  “Gone in Sixty Seconds,” Kenneth corrected.

  “You’re going to miss some if we start it before you’re done,” Besseta told him.

  Not taking his eyes off his task, he answered, “I have it memorized.” Besseta wanted to laugh, but she knew he was telling the truth.

  “You’ve seen it more times than you can count?” she asked.

  “It has some really good cars,” Kenneth mumbled.

  As the movie started, Kenneth proved his point and mumbled quietly along with the movie, never taking his eyes off his task. When he started on Tiffany, she wanted to pause the movie, but Besseta almost went off, so Kenneth continued as they watched it.

  Kenneth was done with Tiffany just in time to see the part he loved: Eleanor. Besseta smiled, hearing his thoughts, but she never took her eyes off the TV, agreeing with Kenneth that this was a good movie.

  Chapter 15

  It was almost a month later that they got their first message from Maliki. Before dawn, they sat around the table, each with a page to decode. Tiffany had woken them when she found the post on the internet as she was shopping for Jack and Jill.

  When they finished, they read the letter, and Kenneth shook his head. “This is not all bad,” he said, putting the letter down.

  Besseta leaned back. “I don’t even know how you can say that. The European League is gone, and several thousand vampires are known to be under the cubari. Then we have confirmed reports that most werewolves are under the cubari and working with the drone vampires, capturing or killing any they come across.”

  Kenneth tapped the table. “If you hadn’t gotten that warning out, all the Leagues except the Asian League would be gone as well as most vampires—either turned or dead. And now the cubari would be working on controlling the humans. This just shows we threw a big wrench in their machine and gave us a chance to fight.”

  “Well, it seems Maliki is having more problems than success,” Tiffany said. “Only one League member was killed, but they have lost many of their guards.”

  “That was stupid attacking the site in Arizona,” Besseta said. “I told him not to.”

  “It seems Maliki felt he had no option,” Tiffany said. “Maliki has taken many of the humans in the Strong Hands.”

  Besseta slapped the table. “They really aren’t a threat. We need to start wiping out the werewolves; that’s the main threat from the cubari.”

  Kenneth gave a shudder, remembering the video of Besseta pummeling that massive form. He had a hard time believing it was even a real creature; it was so massive. “What’s the fastest way to kill the werewolves?” he asked.

  “One at a time,” Besseta sighed. “They are stronger than us and just as fast as most vampires.”

  After thinking for a minute, he announced, “No, the fastest way to end this is kill the cubari. They are the fewest in number but have all the control.”

  “Yes it is, but we can’t smell them to track them,” Besseta said.

  Raising a finger, Kenneth said, “But according to what we read, the cubari are not supposed to be susceptible to vampire abilities. But Tiffany was able to hold one with telekinesis, and you could read its thoughts with telepathy. Now Maliki couldn’t read its thoughts, but he controlled it, so that means what was written was wrong. We can hurt them with your abilities,” Kenneth said.

  “You’re basing this on an encounter with a werewolf that was being controlled by a succubus,” Tiffany pointed out.

  “Let’s just say a possessed werewolf and get it out there,” Kenneth said. “Now, the cubari think they’re gods, but we’ve proven they aren’t. They can die, we know, and we can hurt them with abilities like yours.”

  Tiffany looked at him. “So me and Besseta start a war with the two of us?”

  “Well, a war is already going,” Kenneth pointed out. “You two will just be more effective.”

  Besseta tapped the letter. “Maliki knows there is at least one cubari in Arizona. Is that worth the effort of attacking it again?”

  “Not till we learn more about the place,” Kenneth said.

  Tiffany slapped the table. “Which brings me back to my proposal.”

  Kenneth jumped up. “I still can’t believe you were the one who suggested it,” he said, walking to the fridge.

  “Baby, she has a valid point. We need as many weapons as we can get,” Besseta said, feeling the worry in Kenneth’s mind.

  Kenneth took out some orange juice. “Besseta, you have pulled a lot of abilities into that little body. I don’t care what you are; there is always a breaking point,” he said, pouring a glass. “We still don’t know how that wolf blood is going to affect you.”

  “That’s over,” Tiffany said.

  Kenneth drained his glass. “Tiffany, you haven’t even found a reference to an ability like Besseta’s—only a rumor. How can you be so sure?” he asked.

  “I just am,” Tiffany said with confidence. “No one has studied the virus as much as I have. I spent decades just learning molecular genetics to map out the virus.” She looked over and found Kenneth just staring at Besseta. “Guys, please, use your voices,” she begged.

  Taking a deep breath, he asked, “So what do you really think?”

  “I think it’s worth a shot,” Besseta told him. “With it, we have two powerful telekinetic users and not one.”

  “Okay, do it tomorrow,” Kenneth sighed.

  “We need more snacks,” Tiffany said. “I don’t want Besseta to suddenly get hungry. When I started using my ability, it made me very thirsty very fast.”

  “Well, let’s go and find some bad people,” Kenneth said, walking over to the table. “The werewolf sightings are in Montana now with a few in Florida.”

  “We don’t know where the drone vampires are searching,” Besseta pointed out.

  Walking out, Kenneth told them, “Get dressed; let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?” Tiffany called out.

  “Detroit,” Besseta told her. “He thinks that will be the safest place to grab some snacks.”

  Tiffany stood. “Very well,” she said and shot out of the kitchen as Besseta disappeared.

  Besseta was in the bedroom when Kenneth walked in. “Show off.” He smiled, walking into the closet with her. Giving him a weak smile, Besseta grabbed some clothes. “Don’t even start,” he said. “I’m going. You can’t carry them back, so that means driving. We’ll take the van, and I’ll drive,” he told her, hearing the argument starting in her thoughts.

  “If something happens, we can leave the van,” Besseta said as Kenneth dressed.

  “And you wouldn’t carry me?” he asked, hurt.

  Darting over, Besseta hugged him. “To the ends of the Earth.”

  “Then we have nothing to fear.”

  Not convinced, Besseta let him go and got dressed.

  It wasn’t long before Kenneth was driving them in the van, heading to Detroit. “I don’t like the van,” Tiffany announced behind them. “It doesn’t convey in comfort.”

  Not able to help it, Kennet
h laughed. “Tiffany, the van’s job is to move stuff in secret, not comfort.”

  “The Jag has nice trunk space,” she told him.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m still amazed you fit four grown men it. In this, we can take over half a dozen.”

  “Besseta was very persuasive when she pushed them into the trunk.” Tiffany smiled. “They didn’t like it, but after she broke one’s legs to make him fit, the others shut up.”

  “I can only imagine.” Kenneth grinned, turning around.

  It was well after sundown when Besseta asked Kenneth to pull over outside of town. It took a few minutes, but Kenneth found an abandoned house and pulled around the back. Besseta opened the door and looked back at him. “Please don’t wander off,” she more told than asked.

  “I’m a big boy,” Kenneth assured her.

  “Listen to her, Kenneth,” Tiffany said, moving between the seats. “If needed, I’ll stay here and hold you. Besseta can’t think straight if she’s worried about you.”

  Huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest, he said, “I’ll stay in the van.”

  Leaning back over and moving Tiffany back, Besseta kissed him. “We won’t be long,” she promised and jumped out with Tiffany following. When Tiffany closed the door, they both took off. Tiffany pushed with everything she had to even keep Besseta in sight.

  Besseta came to a stop across from a large parking lot that was filled with people. Cars were everywhere, many blasting music into the night. Tiffany stopped beside her, gasping for air. “Besseta, you must go slower; I almost lost you twice.”

  Glancing over at Tiffany as she gasped for air, Besseta said, “I was jogging.”

  Getting her breathing under control, Tiffany shook her head. “I’ve never run faster in my life,” she admitted.

  “Wait here, and let me see if we have some prospects,” Besseta told her and vanished.

  Staring at the air where Besseta’s face was only milliseconds before, Tiffany’s eyes widened. “My word,” she gasped, never even seeing Besseta move.

  Suddenly, Besseta was back with a large man over her tiny shoulder. Tiffany smiled as Besseta dropped the body to the ground. “There are a few more,” Besseta told her and vanished.