Vampire Wake (Kiera Hudson Series #2)

by Tim O'Rourke

  “Where’s Kayla Hunt?” the figure asked, the voice male, but still young.

  “Who are you?” I asked, stepping forward in an attempt to get a better look at him.

  “Where’s Kayla Hunt?” he asked again, his voice flat and even.

  “They’ve taken her,” I told him.

  “Taken her where?” and now his voice sounded agitated.

  “That’s the million dollar question,” Potter said.

  “Who are you?” I asked him again.

  Stepping out of the shadows so I could see his face, he looked at me with eyes that seemed to penetrate my very soul and he said, “My name is Isidor Smith and I’ve been sent to rescue Kayla”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Pushing Potter and me aside, Isidor went to the trap door. Looking back at Potter, he said, “Are you ready for this?”

  “Bring it,” Potter smirked, egging Isidor on.

  No sooner had the hatch been yanked open, Isidor and Potter disappeared into the darkness beneath it. Teetering on the edge of the hatch, I looked down but all I could see was a blur of shadows and hear the ear-splitting sound of vampires dying.

  Then silence.

  Scrambling from the darkness, Isidor and Potter appeared from beneath the hatch. Both stood and wiped blood from their mouths and I noticed Potter had it smeared across his chest.

  Isidor stared at me from beneath a navy-blue baseball cap. His right eyebrow was pierced with a small silver stud and his otherwise sharp and clean cut look was spoilt by a short, stubby beard that hung from his chin. An intricate pattern of black flames tattooed the left side of his neck and licked just beneath his jaw line. His eyes were such a dark shade of brown that they were almost black. He was tall and his frame was lean.

  I remembered Doctor Ravenwood saying that Isidor was eighteen years-old, and despite the tuft of beard, piercing and tattoo, he still had a boyish quality about him. Turning his back on us, Isidor stepped back onto the porch and out into the night. As he went, I noticed what appeared to be a strangely-fashioned crossbow slung over his back and a rucksack that was full of wooden stakes. He wore a long dark brown coat that hung just above his knees, blue jeans, and red baseball boots.

  As he left the summerhouse, I looked back at Potter who raised an eyebrow at me. Peering out through the splintered doorway, I could see that the clearing was covered in mounds of what looked like snow. But, standing on the porch, I could see that it wasn’t snow at all, but a thick blanket of ash that now covered the ground. It was all over the walls and roof of the summerhouse, and some of the chalky remains of the vampires floated in the air like snowflakes.

  Realising that the immediate threat of the vampires had gone, I rushed past Isidor and down the porch steps.

  “Did you see Luke?” I asked, praying that perhaps he’d managed to escape.

  “Be careful,” Isidor warned. “There might still be some of those bloodsuckers out here.”

  Ignoring him, I said, “Did you see Luke – he was out here, the vampires were -”

  “Duck!” Isidor shouted, and in a blink of an eye he took the odd-looking crossbow from his back, loaded and fired it over my head. Crouching, I looked back to see a vampire tearing from the woods at me, its teeth violet with blood, eyes crazed and bulging from their sockets. Within touching distance from me, the stake that Isidor had unleashed ripped through the chest of the approaching creature, tearing it back through the air. Clutching at its chest, the vampire exploded into a shower of dust which erupted into the air like a flour bomb.

  Even before the powdery remains of the vampire had hit the ground, Isidor had thrown the crossbow across his back and said, “So who’s this Luke guy you keep yapping on about?”

  “He’s my friend,” I told him, making my way back through the mist and fog to where I’d seen Luke fall.

  “More than a friend, I sense,” Isidor said, coming down the porch steps towards me. Then sniffing the air like a wolf he smiled and added, “No, he’s more than a friend to you.”

  “How do you figure that?” I asked, kicking over piles of ash with the tip of my boot in a desperate search for Luke. “It’s your pheromones!” he said matter-of-factly. “My what?” I asked, not really paying too much attention as I searched the remains of the vampires that littered the clearing. “They’re scents you give off when you’re aroused,” he explained. “It’s a pretty easy concept to grasp. What they do is allow animals to attract each other on a subconscious level. They activate the more basic instincts in animals -”

  “I’m no animal,” I said without looking back at him.

  “Well maybe not, but I can sure smell that you’ve got it bad for this Luke dude,” he said.

  Then I remembered Ravenwood telling me that Isidor had a heightened sense of smell just like my sight and Kayla’s hearing. Looking back at him, I saw Potter step from the now derelict summerhouse and out onto the porch. Isidor looked at him, sniffed the air, then stared at me.

  “What you staring at?” I asked him.

  “Jeez, and I thought your hormones were raging – that guy reeks,” he said. Then smiling he added, “Perhaps it isn’t this Luke dude you’ve got the hots for…”

  “Give me a break,” I groaned, looking back at Potter who now had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth while he inspected his wings. “Don’t just stand there Potter, help me find Luke and Murphy!”

  “What about Kayla?” Isidor chipped in.

  Then as if my prayers had been answered, a muffled groaning sound came from somewhere nearby within the fog. “Over here!” I shouted at Potter and waved my arm in the air to grab his attention. Looking up at me, he flittered from the porch in a haze of shadows and was next to me. Making our way towards the sound with Isidor at out heels, my heart began to pound in my chest at what I might stumble across. Ahead, I could just see an outstretched arm sticking up from beneath a mound of silver ash. Running towards it, I shoved the ash away like a broken sandcastle and pulled at the arm.

  He’s alive! I thought to myself with tears standing in my eyes.

  Reaching into the ash, Potter grabbed the other arm and pulled Murphy from within it. His hair was covered grey as was his face and bare chest. He looked as if he’d just climbed out of a chalk pit.

  “Where’s Luke?” I asked, taking him by the shoulders.

  Rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands then shaking the vampire remains from his hair, he looked at me and said, “I saw him break free.”

  Hearing this, my heart leapt into my throat. “Where is he?” I said looking around at the piles of ash. “Dunno,” Murphy croaked and started to cough the dust from his lungs. “He just took off.” “Took off where?” I asked, desperate to know what had happened to him. “He went after the girl,” Murphy explained, shaking the ash from his wings like a dog shaking sea water from its fur. “Kayla?” Isidor said, stepping forward. “He went after Kayla?” “Who are you?” Murphy asked, eyeing him with some suspicion. “Which way did they go?” Isidor asked, eager to get after them. “Somewhere up there,” Murphy said, pointing into the night sky. “Unless you got yourself a set of wings kid, you won’t be catching ‘em.”

  “I’ve got wings,” Isidor said, unfastening his coat.

  As he pulled it opened, I gasped, but not at the sight of the many sets of rosary beads that hung against his bare chest, nor the many wooden stakes that had been attached to the inside of his coat, but at the sight of his wings. These were nothing like the wings I had seen on any of the other Vampyrus. Unlike their wings, Isidor’s wings hung from beneath his arms and were attached to his ribcage. As he stood with both arms extended on either side of him, it looked almost as if he had two large black webs concealed beneath his arms.

  Looking at Isidor’s wings and the collection of rosary beads that swung from around his neck, Potter said, “Okay, Madonna, I think we get the picture. Now zip your coat up before you catch a cold.”

  Looking a little hurt, he turned to Potter
and said, “I saved your butt, dude, and don’t you forget it!”

  “I’m sure having you around will be a constant reminder,” Potter said flicking his cigarette away.

  “And that’s another thing,” Isidor growled. “I have a very sensitive sense of smell and if we’re gonna be on the same team -” “Team!” Murphy and Potter said together.

  “Now don’t you go getting any funny ideas, kid,” Potter started.

  “Who you calling ‘kid’?” Isidor said, striding towards Potter.

  “Enough already!” I shouted. “Kayla’s been snatched, if you’d forgotten, and Luke’s gone after her and god only knows how badly injured he maybe and all you two can worry about…” I started and my bottom lip started to tremble.

  “It’s okay, Kiera,” Murphy said, placing his hand over mine.

  “It’s not okay! If you hadn’t noticed, we barely got out of this alive tonight!” Then looking at him, I said, “And how did you manage to escape?”

  Uncurling the fingers of his other hand, Murphy revealed the small silver crucifix tiepin that I’d seen him wearing on the very first day that I’d met him in The Ragged Cove. Winking at me he said, “I told you, Kiera Hudson, this little thing will offer you more protection than any gun, Taser, or baton.”

  “What about Luke?” I asked. “How did he manage to escape?”

  “That, I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head at me. “But he got away somehow and wasted no time in going after Philips and the girl.”

  “So are we gonna stand here all night yapping or are we going after them?” Isidor said, almost seeming to hop from foot to foot with energy.

  “No,” Murphy said, walking away and heading out of the clearing towards the woods. “No?” Isidor said going after him. “You don’t seem to understand – I’ve been sent to rescue her.” “Goodbye then,” Potter said, following his sergeant. But -” Isidor started. “No buts,” Murphy said, turning to look at him. “We need to get back to the manor house.” “Why?” Isidor pushed. “If you hadn’t of noticed,” Murphy said, “we ain’t in too good a shape. My boy Potter here needs to rest those wings, and I feel like I’ve been kicked and punched to hell and back.”

  “But what about Luke? ”I asked.

  “What about Luke?” someone said from over my shoulder.

  Turning, I watched Luke step out of the fog that continued to swirl around the trees and clearing. Running, I threw my arms around him.

  “Be gentle,” he winced. “I’m hurting.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered, but still held onto him as I guided him towards the others. I noticed that as he walked, he almost seemed to shuffle and stoop. “I’m so happy to see you!’

  “I’m sorry,” he said, using me as a support.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “For losing Kayla,” he said. “Phillips had too much of a head start on me. And what, with my wings in tatters, I just couldn’t keep up. I really did try.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I told him. “We’ll find her.” “When?” Isidor asked, catching the tail end of our conversation. “Can’t you see he needs rest?” Potter cut in, dismissing Isidor and helping support Luke by gripping him under the arm. “But -” Isidor started again. “You don’t listen too good, do ya kid?” Murphy barked. “We ain’t gonna be no good to Kayla like this. But if you think you can do better on your own, so long and good luck.”

  “I’m not afraid of any vampires,” Isidor said puffing out his chest. “Can’t you see what I did here tonight?”

  Stepping so close to Isidor that their noses were almost touching, Murphy said, “What happened here tonight was nothing compared to what’s coming. This was a mere sideshow. You think because you harpooned a few vampires you’re ready to take on a whole army? Because that’s what’s coming, kid – an army – and a war like you couldn’t imagine in your wildest hallucinations. So if you want to be on our team, as you put it, shut your face and fall into line.”

  Without waiting for a response, Murphy disappeared into the shadows and fog as he headed back towards the manor. Making sure that Potter had hold of Luke, I went over to Isidor who stood looking glumly at the ground.

  “He isn’t so bad,” I said, remembering how Murphy and Potter had first treated me back in The Ragged Cove.

  “The guy’s a dick,” Isidor muttered under his breath.

  “I thought that at first – but he kind of grows on you,” I half-smiled. “Even Potter has his moments I guess.” Tugging at the sleeve of his jacket, I led him through the woods and towards the manor.

  “I want to go after Kayla as much as you do,” I told him. “But Murphy’s right, they won’t be any good tracking her in their state.”

  “I guess,” Isidor said.

  We walked in silence for a while, always keeping Luke, Potter and Murphy in sight as they staggered and limped between the trees. They looked like the last of the Calvary heading home from the battlefield.

  We cleared the woods and headed across the vast lawns to the manor. Turning to look at Isidor, I could see that he looked troubled. I guessed he was worried about what Lady Hunt would say to him when she realised he had failed to save her daughter. Knowing that I had failed her too, I said, “Don’t worry about Lady Hunt. I’ll tell her what happened.”

  “Lady Hunt?” Isidor said, raising an eyebrow at me. “She’s dead.” “Dead?” I asked, not believing what I was hearing. “How?” “The guy who sent me to find Kayla – he murdered her,” Isidor explained. “What was his name?” I asked, confused. “He didn’t give me his proper name,” Isidor said, “He just told me to call him Sparky.”

  Chapter Thirty

  “Sparky?” I said, believing that I must have misheard him.

  “Yeah, some lanky dude, with a face like a pizza,” Isidor groaned. “Why, do you know him?”

  “Yeah maybe,” I whispered, trying to make sense of what he had just told me. “Why did he ask you to come and get Kayla for him?”

  “Because, he said if I didn’t he was gonna kill my mother,” Isidor said. “She went missing a few months ago – then this Sparky showed up out of the blue a few days ago and said that he had her – but I could save her life if I did this one thing for him. Now you can see why I’m so desperate to get this Kayla back for him.”

  With my knees feeling as if they were going to give way beneath me, I tried to suck in breath. Then as if being hit by a freight train my head rocked back and there was a brilliant flash of white light and all I could see was those half-breed children lying in their beds clutching at the air as their breathing apparatus was unplugged. I could see broken images of Doctor Ravenwood as if he was being reflected back at me in a thousand broken pieces of glass. He looked asleep – unconscious – dead? These were followed with crystal-clear memories of sitting in my flat with Sparky, as he listened intently to what had happened to me in The Ragged Cove. And in my heart I now realised why he was the only one who had believed me – because he was one of them – sent to befriend me, hoping that I would lead him to my friends. That’s how Phillips and Taylor knew who I’d had contact with since returning from the Cove. Their names and addresses. And the phone call – what were the chances of me ringing on the very same day and time that Phillips was sent to capture Sparky? Taylor and Phillips had wanted me to fear for his safety so Sparky could use himself as a bargaining tool when the time was right. I had seen everything but had seen nothing at all. While my friends and me were fighting for our lives at the summerhouse, Sparky was to sneak away back to the manor and….those images of the half-breed children swam before my eyes again…I could see myself pointing Sparky in the direction of the manor and telling him to go and hide there. But what was it Sparky wanted…?

  “Are you okay?” someone said in my ear. “Kiera, wake up!” Opening my eyes, I could see Luke, Potter, Murphy, and Isidor looking down at me. “Kiera, what’s wrong?” Luke asked, kneeling beside me. “Her eye’s doing that bleeding-thing again,” Potter pointed out. “H
e just wants a way inside the manor,” I mumbled. “Who does?” Murphy said. “Who are you talking about?” “Sparky,” I said, trying to get up. “Who in the hell is Sparky?” Potter grumbled. “I thought he was my friend!” I cried and ran towards the manor. “Kiera!” Luke shouted behind me. “Kiera, what’s going on?” Pushing against the big oak door, I stumbled into the great hall. “Sparky!” I screamed. Then looking to my right I could see that the door to the drawing room was open. “What have you done?” I whispered, seeing the crumpled body of Mrs. Lovelace lying on the floor. Racing into the room, I dropped to my knees and rolled her over.

  “Mrs. Lovelace,” I said, my voice trembling. Feeling something warm and sticky covering my fingers, I pulled them free of Mrs. Lovelace and winced at the blood that covered them. Her eyes stared blankly up at me, but it wasn’t her eyes that made my heart almost stop, but the look of sheer horror engraved into her face and the opening that ran from just beneath her wrinkled chin to her chest bone. From behind me, I could hear the sound of footsteps as the others came running into the hallway. Holding Mrs. Lovelace’s cold hand in mine, I stroked the tissue-thin skin that covered it.

  “I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “I’m so sorry.” Feeling a hand fall upon my shoulder, I looked up to find Luke next to me. “What’s going on here?” “I was tricked, Luke,” I cried. “I thought he was my friend – but all he really wanted was to get…” “You,” he said, helping me to stand and taking me in his arms while the others looked from the doorway. “No, not me,” I said. “If it was me that he wanted then he had plenty of opportunities. He wanted something else.” “But what?” Luke asked, wiping away my tears. “The half-breeds on the ward,” Murphy said, his voice low and grim. Then turning in the doorway, he limped as fast as he could towards the stairs.

  Letting go of me, Luke ran towards the door, his wings trailing behind him like a torn cape. Looking at Potter, he said, “How you feeling, my friend?”