Grave Illusions

by Lina Gardiner

  Where’d he get the holy water? She knew it was all over when the vampire’s teeth broke through the flesh on her neck. Nothing could save her this time. He’d suck every ounce of decency out of her, and she’d have no will left. Regent wouldn’t be able to save her again.

  Then, wrenching the cap off the bottle, Britt threw the holy water on the big vampire. Some splashed on Jess too, and damn it burned. But the big vampire had gotten the biggest dose of the water, and he dropped to his knees and covered his face with vibrating hands. His flesh boiled and bubbled. A deep, agonizing howl erupted from deep inside him, a sound that Jess could never get used to. She hated it almost as much as she hated what she was.

  Suddenly, the vampire leaped to his feet, turned and ran. She knew his only hope of survival would be to get to his place of safety before he succumbed to the damage the water would cause. He’d be stronger than her because of his size, she guessed, but then her own searing pain blocked her ability to think straight. It felt like hot irons driving into her. She tried to keep herself under control. Screaming wouldn’t help her or Britt right now, though the pain bubbled into her throat and she nearly lost it as she fell to the ground. Pain so excruciating she could no longer stand.

  “Oh, Jess, I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. I thought he was going to kill you.” Britt dropped to his knees beside her.

  “He was going to kill me. You saved my life.” Jess pushed herself up on her elbows.

  “Oh, my God, your face! Look what I’ve done to you.” He pulled her into a sitting position and cradled her in his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’ll survive. But it hurts like hell.”

  “Is there anything we can do? Is there salve we can put on it?”

  “Just one thing … will work.” She felt woozy. Britt wouldn’t stand a chance if she passed out and the vampire came back, though it wasn’t likely to happen since he’d taken the brunt of the holy water. He had to be in worse shape than she. “Take me to my brother,” she managed to whisper.

  His clean scent filled her nostrils when he lifted her into his arms. She clung to it as if it were a lifeline. “Where’s your brother?”

  “Saint Eugenia’s Rectory, next door,” she said, then closed her eyes and let darkness envelope her.

  Chapter Eight

  When Jess came to it was mid afternoon. She looked at the electronic clock on her table that told the time and date, something she always wanted to know when she woke. She’d been in the “suspended state” for the rest of last night and part of the day. She was in her bed at the rectory. Though still painful, when her fingers moved over the burned flesh on the left side of her face she knew it was healing at an amazing pace. One good thing about being a vampire, wounds didn’t last long, but they hurt like hell until they healed.

  She got up, showered and dressed in pajamas. Black satin pjs were her favorite. What else would suit a female vampire?

  Slowly opening the door to her brother’s office, she peered inside. Regent sat at his desk doing paperwork.

  When he heard the door creak, his head snapped up and he gave her a broad smile.

  “Love! How are you feeling today?”

  “Like warmed up hell.”

  “John Brittain is definitely all you said he was. He actually saved you last night.”

  Had Regent even listened to her answer before he started gushing about John Brittain? “He got lucky,” she said, dropping into the wingback chair in front of his antique oak desk and propping her slippered feet on the edge of his desk. So she’d only been out less than twelve hours. She’d bounced back quicker than she’d thought possible after taking a dose of holy water.

  “Luck had nothing to do with it. If he hadn’t used that holy water, you’d both be dead.”

  “I was surprised that he had some with him.” She offered a small smile at Britt’s instincts. He hadn’t been told holy water would work, yet he’d brought it along just in case. She winced and touched her face. It had worked only too well.

  “He pounded on the rectory door, and when I got to it, he rushed you inside and demanded that I do something to help you.” Regent clasped his hands together as if in silent prayer. “If I hadn’t been so worried about you, I think I’d have given him a glass of my best champagne.”

  “No! Not your champagne.” He’d been saving that bottle for as long as she could remember. It had probably gone rancid long ago.

  “When did he leave?” she asked, trying to look as if she didn’t really care one way or another.

  “Not until I assured him you were going to make it and you just needed rest in order to heal.”

  “You call that rest?” She gave him an incredulous look. She called it dead.

  “You know what I mean.”

  It meant he didn’t like to admit she was undead, if that terminology even fit this real life situation, or if it only worked that way in the movies. He had no idea what the physiological effects of vampirism really were. When it came right down to it, he couldn’t admit to himself what she really was. She was his big sister, always.

  “I guess he proved to be a solid team member. His performance wasn’t too bad. He could’ve just left me there.”

  “Not bad! Honey, most humans would have run away. They wouldn’t have stood their ground like he did. He told me this vampire is a goliath. I imagine his strength is equal to his size. That makes him at least twice as strong as you. There’s no way you could’ve beaten him alone.”

  “Yeah, but I’m twice as smart,” she argued. It was true it had taken a lot of courage for Brittain to stay and fight. The size of that vampire was unusual. Even she felt like taking off when she’d seen him the first time. And nothing scared her—usually.

  Regent might not be able to go out and fight side by side with her any longer, but he was the best strategist she knew, and, no doubt, he knew she hadn’t told him everything. He always knew.

  Worry etched into his wrinkled face as he leaned forward. His blue eyes had long ago faded to gray. The sparkle of youth had become the washed out pallor of age. “Tell me everything.”

  “This vampire is different. If I’m right, he attacked me from the back left church spire. The one beside the huge copper cross.”

  “Dear Lord! It can’t be true. He’s able to withstand a cross of that magnitude? He must be very powerful.” Regent instantly began reciting prayers under his breath.

  “I’m afraid I may have found his killing ground, too. It probably gives him great satisfaction to kill his prey up there—on holy ground.”

  “No.” The sound came out of him in an almost fearful sigh. “That would be unheard of.”

  “I’m going to call Sampson right away, ask him to join me on the roof. I think we need to check it out.”

  “The sooner the better,” Regent said, weariness creeping into his voice. “I won’t be able to perform Sunday service knowing some poor soul has been violated up there.” He picked up his teacup and took a long drink. “What about Britt?”

  Jess touched Regent’s shoulder. Nothing would stop him from doing Sunday service; he hadn’t missed a Sunday in fifty-years. Even so, she intended to make sure the church hadn’t been violated by that massive vampire. She needed to give her brother peace of mind.

  “What about Britt?” Regent seemed awfully attached to Britt all of sudden. That made her nervous.

  “Aren’t you going to call him too? After what he’s done for you, he at least deserves to be in on the investigation.”

  Jess put her feet on the floor and leaned her elbows on the desk, staring straight into Regent’s eyes. “How long did you two talk yesterday?”

  Regent held up his hand and blocked her gaze. “Don’t try unsavory methods to make me talk, dear. It doesn’t become you.”

  She laughed. “I wasn’t going to, but you seem a little on the defensive. There must be something you’re not telling me.”

  He got up and paced to the fireplace. He threw on a small log and kept his
back to her. “Certainly not.”

  Britt paced his apartment. He wanted to go back to Saint Eugenia’s and demand to know how Jess was doing. But, of course he couldn’t do that. Nor would she appreciate it. He’d have to wait. She’d come to see him sooner or later. At the very least the team would be going out together tomorrow night—if she could make it.

  Who knew watching those old vampire movies would help him some day. He hadn’t known if holy water would actually work, but he’d thought it was worth a try. Strange Jess hadn’t taught that to the team. But after seeing the damage it did, he decided that maybe she had her reasons for not teaching them every one of a vampire’s vulnerabilities.

  The gravestone and the brown paper wrapper lying on the coffee table caught his attention. He had no idea why he’d kept the darned thing. He picked it up, paper and all, and dumped it into trashcan, then took the garbage bag to the chute in the hallway and dropped it down. Good riddance.

  When he got back to the apartment his phone was ringing. He grabbed the receiver and barked, “Britt here.” The voice at the other end sent a shaft of exultation through him. “Jess, it’s good to hear your voice. How are you feeling?

  She responded positively and invited him to the rectory, saying she’d tell him why when he got there.

  On the way, he told himself the urgent need to get there wasn’t because he cared about her. Hell no. It was because she was the only person who could help him find out what was going on.

  That and he really liked her brother. He and Regent had talked till the wee hours of the morning. It still seemed strange to know that Jess was over eighty. Could’ve been much older though, considering her condition. Regent had told him about one vampire they’d slain who’d been over two hundred years old.

  Britt arrived at the rectory, paid the taxi driver and got out. There were several unmarked police vehicles in the yard. His heart kicked up a notch. Had something happened?

  The door swung open and two plainclothes officers stepped outside giving him a quick once-over. He could spot a cop a mile away. He gave them his best “I’m a cop too” nod. They accepted the gesture and moved on.

  When he reached Regent’s office, he heard voices. Was anybody listening, or were they all talking at once? Rather than step into the middle of the active discussions, he leaned against the doorjamb and surveyed everyone inside the room.

  Jess knew the second he arrived—he’d bet on it. The side of her face was still marred, but the scar tissue had mostly healed. Amazing.

  A bald man in a lab coat stood beside Jess, and he waved Britt in. “Come in. Come in. You must be John Brittain.”

  All eyes were instantly on him, including Jess’s. She looked a little tired but appeared good to go.

  “Britt, I’d like to introduce you to everyone,” Jess said, still standing beside the bald guy. “This is Sampson Case, my Forensic Vampirologist.”

  Sampson had put his arm around Jess, and Britt’s eyes narrowed. Was he a vampire too? No. He was sure he wasn’t.

  She continued introducing officers around the room. There were five of them in all, leaders from the other Special Ops Teams.

  The first chance he got, he pulled Jess aside. “Why did you ask me here? What’s going on?”

  “We’re just about to go up on the roof. We think that vampire we encountered last night is known as Prometheus. It appears that he’s been killing people on the church’s roof.” She looked at him like the information was very important. Why?

  She obviously understood his confusion, because she said, “Most vampires could never withstand being near a cross, especially a cross the size of the one on the roof. There’s only one way this guy could’ve been up there. He has to be like me. He has a partial soul.”

  Britt blinked. She had a partial soul? What the hell did that mean?

  Again, Jess must’ve sensed his confusion because she continued with, “That means he’s very dangerous to us because if he’s been killing on hallowed ground, it’s a message to everyone that he’s a very powerful force to be reckoned with.”

  “Jesus.” A sudden lull in the chatter made his curse word hang in the air. He turned to Regent. “Sorry about that, Father.”

  Regent held up one hand indicating it wasn’t a problem, and everyone went back to their conversation.

  “It still doesn’t explain why you called me here. With all the expertise in this room, you don’t need me.”

  He kept his voice low so only she could hear him. He glanced around the room, again concluding there were no other vampires here.

  Jess learned toward him, as if she didn’t want to be overheard by anyone either. “Look, it’s no big deal. I just figured after what happened last night, you’d want to be in on this.”

  Britt nodded. The old cop’s code. He was involved so he got to take part in the follow-up. It felt good to be a member of the team again.

  Instead of letting her know how happy he was to be included, he pursed his lips and set his expression in his most professional mask. “Since you put it that way, I am interested.”

  The roof wasn’t easy to get to. Father Vandermire stayed behind. Britt could tell he wanted to go, but he wasn’t physically up to climbing the narrow spiral staircase circling up five stories to the bell tower.

  The stairway reeked of pigeon crap. A couple of the cops complained about it, but Britt kept his mouth shut. If that monster vampire had been feeding on the roof, the odor would likely be a hell of a lot worse when they got to the top.

  When they finally reached the top and Sampson opened the door, he was proved right.

  “Oh dear,” Sampson said as he stepped onto the flat bit of roof. “Johnston, snap to it and get the pictures taken while we still have enough light.” The sun was just above the horizon. Within the next half hour dusk would be settling in.

  The small area of bronze sheeting was circled with bloodless bodies in different stages of decomposition. At first glance, Britt guessed there were at least a dozen corpses.

  He suddenly realized Jess wasn’t in the middle of the action and scanned the roof for her. He spotted her in the shadow of the cross barely outside the stairwell door. It was as if a palpable force held her where she stood, hunched over and weak.

  He got to her just before she collapsed. Sweeping her into his arms, he hurried down the stairs before any of the other cops saw them.

  At Regent’s office, her brother rushed forward. “Jess!” His wrinkled hand lovingly caressed her face. “I told you not to go up there. You’re still too weak from the holy water.”

  Britt lowered her onto the leather couch and pushed a cushion under her head. She was pale. As pale as he’d expect a vampire to be normally. Her eyes fluttered open for a second then closed again.

  His gut writhed at the realization that he’d caused her weakened state. He’d sprayed that holy water on her and burned her horribly.

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “Britt, wait. Tell me what’s up there on the roof.” Regent’s voice sounded strained and exceedingly old.

  He just kept going. He had to get out of here. No way did he want to see the look on Regent’s face when he heard what was up there. No way in hell! “Sorry, Regent, I’ve got to go. Sampson will fill you in.”

  He’d seen some horrific things on the police force, but he still hadn’t wrapped his mind around the idea that vampires hunted and killed in his city. And he still hadn’t come to terms with the idea that Jess was one of them. Maybe he’d gone soft since he’d left the force, but he wasn’t ready to tell that old man what kind of horror had occurred on the roof of his church. More than that, he didn’t want to think about what he’d done to Jess.

  On the way home, Britt was surprised to realize he wasn’t thinking about the bodies on the church’s rooftop. All he could think about was the way Sampson Case had put his arm around Jess, and the way her brother had caressed her face. They weren’t affected by the fact that she was a blood sucking vampire. That intri
gued him and terrified him at the same time.

  He climbed the stairs and unlocked his door. Darkness had fallen.

  He turned on the lights illuminating his tacky apartment. Why did his ratty furniture bother him so much now?

  He opened the fridge. After grabbing a can of beer, he popped the top and drank deeply. There were four more cans in the fridge and a case under the counter. There’d been a time, after he’d killed Randy, when he would have finished it all. If he drank all of the beer right now, it might even help get Jess out of his mind. The thought dissipated as quickly as it formed.

  He wasn’t that man any more. He didn’t drink to forget. He’d moved on, learned to face his demons. And even though he and Jess had found the vampire’s killing ground, it didn’t tell him a thing about what this mess had to do with him. Why those creatures were interested in him.

  He drained the can but had no desire for another. The bodies on the roof hadn’t bothered him. Fighting and taking out vampires sure as hell would not bother him.

  He squeezed his eyes closed and remembered the way Jess had looked that first night on the sidewalk. In leather from head to toe, cleavage partially exposed and pressing against him. He’d felt something for her that night.

  It should terrify him that she had the ability to wipe away that memory, even if it was only for a short time. God only knew what other capabilities she had besides the ability to rip out his throat and drain him of his blood.

  His eyes flashed open. He knew what she was. What she was capable of doing. He could work with her, but there was no way in hell he should be thinking about her the way he was. There was no way in hell he could ever go to bed with her. Was there?

  Chapter Nine

  Jess revived minutes after Britt left. Simply being in the presence of the cross in her weakened state had caused her collapse. She was fine now. In another day or two she’d be able to withstand the cross with only minimal side effects. An unusual ability for vampires.