I lay like that for less than a minute, then rolled to my feet. I pulled out my phone and removed the night filter from the screen.
The man at my feet wore the dark green of a Park Ranger uniform. What I had not seen because of the shadows had been the fresh blood soaked into his collar. My shot had hit several inches to the right, still a lung shot and already half healed. Yes, I definitely needed to sight in this revolver.
His eyes were open, staring upward and unmoving. Nevertheless, I knew he could see me. He just could not move, thanks to the stake in his heart.
I flipped him the finger.
I knelt at his side and inspected his belt. There, hanging from it, was a five-D-cell flashlight. I removed it and held it up.
"As dark as it is out here," I said softly to the paralyzed vampire at my feet, "any human without a light would have been stumbling and making an unholy racket."
I left the light turned off. After all, I was not human and the screen on my phone provided more than enough light.
I now had two vampire bodies to deal with. I stooped and examined the vampire's face. I had not had much time to inspect faces when I had first run into the four vampires in Indianapolis but I didn't think this was one of them. That meant I still had at least three to deal with yet.
At least three.
I swore softly. The problem was growing.
Additional problem. I did not think this vampire had been passing as a park ranger. The blood on the collar suggested that it had instead killed the owner of that uniform and used it to, what? Attempt to approach me knowing I'd hesitate to kill a human.
Might even have worked if it had thought to use the light.
Only now I had two vampire bodies to deal with. I spent a moment looking with longing at the handgun, one of the Glock models popular with law enforcement. I could not tell which one without closer inspection. The problem was that a stolen gun would be as bad as an illegally purchased gun and that was a stolen gun even if I wasn't the thief.
I removed the belt and the badge from the fake ranger vampire. While I could not use it, somewhere out there was the body of the poor sucker this vampire had killed for his uniform. His department would no doubt like those items back.
I had hoped to get deeper into the woods, but this was as far as I was going to go. I picked up the body, careful to make sure that the stake would remain in place, and carried it to where I left the other.
It took me a few minutes to find an area open enough for what I needed. With the spade, I dug a circle about ten feet in diameter, deep enough to get through the forest litter and down to dirt.
While I was stronger than the typical human, it was still tiring, time-consuming work. It was nearing three in the morning before I finished.
I hauled the two bodies to the center of the cleared circle and lay them on the dirt. I made sure to lay my recent playmate on top of the other, face up. I stood over him and smiled, holding up the can of kerosene where the immobilized vampire would be certain to see it.
I then poured the entire contents of the can on the two bodies before squatting and lighting them. I tossed my bloody sweatshirt in the fire, then stepped back and sank to the ground, leaning against the bole of a tree to wait and ensure that they burned to ash. Completely to ash.
It was five in the morning by the time the bodies finished burning and I had scattered forest litter over the circle I had dug. It was not a good cover-up job but the only ones likely to be out here to find it would be squirrel hunters and the rangers enforcing the hunting laws.
I sucked a deep breath over my teeth at the thought of the rangers. One other group likely to be out here—more rangers seeking the whereabouts, and the killers, of their fallen comrade.
I picked up the items I had collected from the ranger's uniform and sent up a silent prayer to his spirit. Yes, I believed in spirits, in a God, even. When someone became a vampire, their body died. Then something unutterably selfish takes over. The body, the brain, were the same. The same neurons. The same neurotransmitters. But the vampire was completely different from the human it had been. It had access to the memories and skills of the human it replaced but it was not the same. Something was missing and something else had taken its place. Call it the 'soul' if you would. That was as good a name as any.
I thought about trying to find the body of the ranger but it was a big forest which I could search until the body was no more than scavenger picked bones and still not find it. And I had more important tasks to attend.
Sometime during the night, the clouds had cleared. The moon had sunk low toward the horizon but even so' enough light filtered through the treetops that I could make my way back to the car easily enough. I tossed the spade into the trunk of the car. With paper towels I wiped down the dead ranger's belongings and bundled them in a bag from my earlier shopping. The bag, too, I wiped. This bundle I set in the passenger side footwell of the car.
I dropped into the driver's seat and let my eyes close for a few seconds before hauling my feet in and pulling the door closed. I started the car and pulled around, back, then around again in a three-point turn which had me going back the way I came. I still had a couple hours before the approaching sunrise would start to lighten the sky.
I drove back toward Indianapolis looking for someplace, anyplace, I could get coffee. I found a fast food place with an all-night drive through. Their largest coffee, loaded with cream and sugar, served to rejuvenate my energy a bit.
Once the caffeine worked its magic to clear my head somewhat, I pulled into a parking spot and called the office.
"McIntire Investigations. Our office is now closed. If you'd care to leave a message, please speak after the beep."
I waited for the beep only instead of speaking, I punched in a code that would switch me to Matei's private voicemail. When the second tone sounded I spoke. "Matei, we've got trouble. I've just encountered another vampire in this area. He was following me while I was..."
A click interrupted me before I could continue. "Dani."
"So, you are screening your calls," I said.
"You say there was a fifth vampire."
"Not one of the four I ran into before," I said. "He killed a park ranger and took his uniform. Came after me when I was taking the other out for disposal. So I ended up having to burn two of them."
"If there is...was...a fifth there might be more."
"Tell me about it, Boss," I said. "I could use some backup up here."
"Ephraim is dead."
I sat, stunned, mouth open for several seconds.
"Ephraim?"
"According to the police report, his throat was slashed. Two cuts, not long but deep. The media are calling it a vampire murder. His last report said that he thought there were at least three operating in Tampa, and possibly more in Miami."
"Damn, Boss."
"The situation is getting worse every day."
"I wouldn't have thought even three vampires could take Ephraim. Okay, when I finish up here, Gerald and I can..."
"I have not heard from Gerald since his arrival check-in at Seattle. I fear the worst."
"Damn, Boss...just...damn."
"I have a flight scheduled to Tampa tonight. I shall attempt to deal with that problem myself. Take care, Dani."
"Will do, Boss. You too."
"Your concern is...appreciated." He hung up.
I dropped the phone into my lap and folded my arms across the steering wheel. My head sank forward almost of its own accord onto my arms.
Ephraim had been dhampyre like me. He was—had been—an experienced and deadly vampire hunter. If I was honest, and I was being very honest right then, he was better in a fight than I was.
Gerald was human but skilled, careful, and smart. I found myself feeling guilty that I hoped that the vampires had merely killed him and were not at this moment turning him.
A vampire with Gerald's skill and knowledge would be a dangerous opponent indeed.
In the meantime,
I had my own problems to deal with.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I had given some thought about what to do with the ranger's gear. The eastern sky was just starting to brighten when I pulled up to a mail dropbox. I wrapped rags around my hands and then removed the bundle from the passenger footwell. A moment later it fell with a loud thunk into the mailbox.
Sometime when the letter carrier was making his rounds he would open this box and remove the contents. He would find the ranger's gear, including his badge and gun. And that should get the search started for the poor bastard's body.
I would be safely out of it. It was the best I could do.
I continued my drive north toward Indianapolis. I had just passed the beltway when my phone rang. I hit speaker.
"Herzeg."
"Ms. Herzeg, this is Detective Ware. I need to meet with you."
"All right," I said. "Let me get some more coffee. Where do you want to meet?"
"If you want coffee, I know just the place. Can you take an address?"
"Hold on. Let me pull over."
I saw a strip mall ahead. When I reached it, I turned into the parking lot.
"Okay, go."
Ware read off an address and I entered it into the mapping application.
"According to this, I'm about twenty minutes away."
"I'll see you then."
I frowned as I shut off the phone. I had thought we were past "Ms. Herzeg" and "Detective Ware."
Had I done something wrong, I thought. Was he in trouble? Had, maybe, his bosses learned about the vampire attack at his house and... I shut down the thought. Speculation would lead me nowhere but trouble.
This early in the morning there was very little traffic. Following the GPS directions took me to the destination in eighteen minutes. I snorted when I saw where I was headed. A national chain donut shop. A police officer acquaintance had one explained the association between police and donuts. What else was one going to buy at the beginning of a twelve-hour stakeout that would still be approximately edible at the end?
I parked and went inside to wait.
Ware had not yet arrived, so I ordered an extra-large coffee—none of the fancy names of some trendier places just small, medium, large, and extra-large—with cream and sugar.
While waiting, I set my phone to browse news. Several news outlets were making much of the rash of slasher murders. I skimmed through three editorials using the rise in murders as an excuse to call for more gun control. I shook my head at that.
One headline caught my eye using the word I never wanted to see in the news.
"Vampire Murders Sweep Nation."
This wasn't Weekly World News or even the Enquirer. This was Fox.
I tapped on the edge of the phone for a moment as I thought, then I tapped the article to open it.
I had gotten no more than two paragraphs into the article before realizing that, if anything, Matei had been underplaying the problem. The reporter here had pulled a lot together. Tampa, Miami, Chicago, Kansas City. The hospital in Indianapolis had been the worst single incident, but already several hundred people were dead, slaughtered by vampires.
A vampire only takes, at most, about a quart of blood at a feeding. Their stomachs are no bigger than human stomachs after all. Most of their feedings are only about a pint. It takes repeated feedings in short time to kill that way.
So, you don't end up with bodies drained of blood like you see in the movies. Instead, you have someone with wounds to a major artery—the neck is common but not the only target—and the body is someone who has bled out. Nothing mysterious about that and most cases never go any farther.
If someone thinks to check, they might notice the blood spilled and the blood still in the body don't match up with what should be present but even that's not likely. It was when you have hundreds of bodies, all bearing double cuts from the fangs, many with additional teeth marks, that people started asking questions.
The article speculated that the kills were the work of a terrorist organization, attempting to strike fear by mimicking vampire kills. Even so, they were getting entirely too close for comfort.
I glanced at the clock on my phone. I'd been sitting here more than half an hour. Ware was late. I opened my contacts list and scrolled through, intending to call him, when the front door to the shop opened and Ware walked in.
His face was blank, devoid of any expression.
"What's wrong?" I asked as he sat down across from me.
He dropped a folder on the table. "There's been another attack. Look this over while I get some coffee. I've been up all night and I'm going to need it."
I opened the file, then slapped it closed. I looked around. Nobody else around to see. I opened it again. A photo lay on the top of the stack, another arrangement of dismembered bodies. Young men and women—within a couple years of twenty would be my guess—stretched in a double row down a hallway with a stack of heads at the far end. I flipped through the pictures until I came to a text report, several sheets of printout stapled together. I removed the report and closed the folder, hiding away the ghastly photos, and read.
The attack had taken place in a residence hall at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, IUPUI. Forensics estimated twenty-three victims; said estimate made by counting the heads. Ten men. Thirteen women. A coed leaving her dorm room on the upper floor for an early morning job had discovered the bodies. Her screams woke several other residents. Three calls were made to 911 about the incident.
Campus police responded first but since it was obviously the work of the vampire cult, the FBI was informed, and they passed the call on to IPD who contacted Detective Sergeant Ware. Crime Scene and coroner's reports to follow.
"I tried to call you." Ware stood looking down at me, cup of coffee in one hand and box of donuts in the other.
"I'm sorry," I said. "Really, really. I'm sorry. I guess I was outside of cell coverage."
"You were out of..." He shook his head then sat down across from me. "So. Did you take care of...?"
I nodded. "Ash."
He nodded but I could still see anger in his eyes.
"You told me they wouldn't be able to..."
I tapped the report. "They shouldn't, not so soon. Except..."
"Except?" He took a chocolate iced donut, hesitated for a moment then turned the box toward me.
I selected glazed donut and took a bite, chewed and swallowed.
"I ran into another va—" I paused and looked around. Nobody close. "Another one. I took care of him but..."
I shook my head and held up four fingers. "Four, when I first arrived here." I folded down one finger. "Took care of one at your ex's house." I raised the finger again. "But I encounter another about an hour outside of town." I folded the finger back down. "Which I take care of." I hold up the other hand and wiggle the fingers and thumb. "But how many more are there? Are they gathering here for some reason?"
"You told me." Ware's voice was flat. "Your boss told me that if the secret got out, the vampires would go on wild killing sprees, trading fear for secrecy." He pointed his hand at the folder. "How much more can they do?"
I sighed and shook my head. "I don't know. I honestly don't know. And I'll tell you, not knowing scares me." Ware's expression changed at my words. He was still angry but, perhaps, not so much at me. "But...does it matter? Are you going to go up to your captain and say, 'we're actually after real vampires'?"
He sighed and shook his head. "No. Guess not. He'd have my badge and me down for a psych review before I got the words out."
"Exactly." I stirred my coffee and took a drink. "I called my boss, asking for some help."
I waited for Ware's response. He sat looking at me for several seconds before speaking. "I take it he isn't sending any."
"One of the other hunters is dead." I started down into my coffee cup. "Another is missing. Matei's going himself to deal with the Tampa problem, cover for the dead hunter."
I looked up at Ware and shr
ugged. "I'm all you've got."
Ware stared at me for a long moment then nodded. "We."
"Pardon?"
He reached across the table and placed a hand on mine. "You're not alone, Ms. Herzeg. Dani. We're all we've got."
I forced a half smile and nodded. "We."
I followed Ware to a garage downtown. I parked the rental there, then joined Ware in his car.
"I need to tell you," I said once Ware had pulled into traffic. "The other vampire I encountered was dressed as a park ranger."
"The vampire was a park ranger?"
"Dressed as one," I said. "Fresh blood on the shirt. I think they killed the poor bastard and dressed in his uniform, thinking I'd hesitate a moment and give them a chance to take me down."
Ware looked at me sideways. "But you didn't hesitate at all, did you?"
I shrugged. "Not only did I feel that a vampire was about but he was walking in a pitch-black forest without a light, sure-footed as you please. I knew what I faced. And people who hesitate when facing vampires don't get second chances."
"All right," Ware said. "I can see that. So, what do we do now?"
"The attack at the university?"
Ware shook his head. "Crime Scene is still processing it. I'll get a report once they're done and once the coroner..." He seemed to collapse into himself. "Lordy. Twenty-three kids, butchered like that."
I grimaced. The vampires were pushing, and pushing hard. I still did not know what their game was, what they hoped to accomplish other than sheer terror. And if that was their goal, why here? Why now? For centuries they'd been content to hunt in the shadows. Why change that?
I understood Ware's rage too. He cared, cared deeply about the people of this city. In another age he'd be a knight errant, riding out to slay monsters and defend the weak. Until now, all his monsters had been human ones.
"Nothing we can do for them now," I said softly. "Nothing but kill the bastards who did it and try to keep them from doing it again."
"We need to do a damn sight better than try." Ware's hands tightened on the wheel until his knuckles gleamed white.
Ware drove to the station. He led me to the office he occupied while working on the vampire cult murders. A luxury since his rank and position did not normally justify a private office.
The Unmasking (Dhampyre the Hunter Book 1) Page 12
