by AnonYMous
‘Shit!’ was the last word he managed to utter, but it was lost amid the rain and wind. The same was not true of the gunshot that followed a second later, which was loud enough to be heard by anyone within a mile of the hotel.
Kacy looked away just a little too late. As a consequence, she saw Swann’s brains fly out through the front of his head and splatter all over the back door of the cab. Then his body slumped forward and hit the door before slowly sliding down into the gutter. The rain washed the blood from his head away as quickly as it poured out from the gaping wound.
The dark-eyed figure of the vampire that Dante had become looked down at the body, unable to hide his disgust at what he realized the agent had been planning to do to the woman he loved.
For Kacy, the sight of her lover standing over the sodden corpse of the man who had planned to rape and kill her was overwhelming. She found herself unable to conceal the elation she felt. All the horror of last few minutes was suddenly washing away faster than Special Agent Swann’s blood.
‘Baby, I love you!’ she squealed, reaching over to grab hold of her returning hero. To her dismay, Dante jumped back.
‘Stay away,’ he hissed in a horrid voice. ‘I ain’t human any more. Don’t come near me. I’ll fuckin’ kill ya, I know it.’
‘What?’ Kacy cried, reaching out an arm in a desperate attempt at least to touch him. He backed away again.
‘I’m serious. Stay back. I’ve got an incredible urge to bite you. Not kiddin’, I’m thirsty for blood. Just stay here. Peto has that Eye of the Moon thing. I’ll get that from him an’ I think it’ll turn me back to normal. Then you can hug me all you like. Till then, just hold it in.’
‘Is Peto here?’ asked Kacy.
‘Yeah. In the hotel. He took the lift, while I ran up the stairs to find ya.’
‘Was he wearing a cop outfit like yours?’
‘Yeah. You seen him?’
Kacy nodded sadly. ‘Everything apart from his head.’
‘Say again?’
‘He was in the lobby, but his head was … was missing. There was blood everywhere. People are freakin’ out.’
‘Shit!’ Dante turned and ran up the steps, through the doors and on into the hotel lobby. Immediately he saw for himself what Kacy had described. Peto’s lifeless body was bleeding all over the carpet from the ghastly stump where his head had once joined his neck. The blue stone and its silver chain were gone, too, and so was the Holy Grail. The only person still in sight was the girl behind the reception desk, who seemed to have gone into shock and was just sitting, staring vacantly at the dead body on the carpet. Dante, forgetting that he was now a full-blown vampire, turned towards her and hissed, ‘Where’s the blue stone gone?’
The woman woke from her hypnotized state and turned her head slightly to look at Dante, who was staring right back at her across the lobby with a pair of large razor-sharp fangs on show and a bucket load of blood over him. It wasn’t really what she needed to see at that particular moment and she promptly fainted, smacking her head hard on the wall behind her as she fell.
The tired, dishevelled and haggard figure of Kacy arrived in the lobby behind Dante.
‘C’mon, baby, let’s get outta here!’ she pleaded.
Dante turned to face her. In spite of the fangs, the pale veiny face and dark-ringed eyes, and the soaked-through shirt covered in blood, he somehow managed to look completely helpless. The realization had dawned on him that whoever had killed Peto had made off with the Eye of the Moon, and would by now be long gone. He was fucked. A vampire for all eternity, most likely. And right now Kacy was looking like his first meal. There’s nothing a vampire craves more for a feast than an attractive member of the opposite sex, so to Dante, Kacy was pretty much Christmas dinner.
‘Honey, get away from me,’ he hissed at her urgently. ‘Get as far away from me as you can. I’m gettin’ urges to kill you. Drink your blood. Don’t make me do it. Get the fuck outta here!’
Kacy’s face fell and she looked ready to cry again. ‘What?’ she gulped. Never in all their time together had Dante not wanted her. This wasn’t a feeling she was used to, or wanted to get used to.
‘I fuckin’ mean it,’ Dante scowled. ‘Get as far away from me as you can.’ He stopped, then added, ‘I’m sorry.’ With that he began to choke up himself, realizing what he was asking of her. He didn’t want to be apart from her any more than she from him, but he had to send her away. It was the only thing he could do. Her best interests were more important than his own desire to drink her blood. And at the moment, while he still had a little control over that urge, which was growing fast, he had to get rid of her. ‘I love you Kacy, an’ I always will, but get the fuck out. Get away from me. We can’t be together. I’ll kill you, or worse still, turn you into a fuckin’ vampire like me. And trust me, this ain’t a nice feeling.’
Kacy stepped towards him. He could see the tears now streaming down her cheeks, brought on by the pain of hearing him rebuke her. It only made him feel worse.
‘Dante, baby, haven’t you learnt anything?’ she asked with pleading eyes.
‘Whadda ya mean?’ he replied, his voice beginning to crack, revealing the pain he was trying to hide.
‘I mean,’ said Kacy, forcing a smile, ‘bite me, you moron.’
Dante froze. Was she really asking him to make her a member of the undead like him? Did she really love him enough to let him kill her and commit her to an eternal hell?
‘You … you sure, Kace? I mean …’
‘Shut up,’ Kacy sniffed, her tears flowing faster than ever. ‘Just shut up, will ya? You had me at “Hey, shithead!”.’
As soon as she said it she knew she had broken through to him. His eyes betrayed him, and Kacy was sure she saw a tear appear for just a second. It disappeared with one blink, but she’d seen it. He still wanted her, and he couldn’t hide it no matter how hard he tried.
‘I love you Kace,’ he said.
‘I know. Now come on and get me before I change my mind.’
Dante walked over and put his arms around her, looking down into her eyes.
‘Mind if I kiss you first?’
‘You’d better.’
A few minutes later they were both creatures of the night, destined to spend their eternal undead lives hunting for the precious blue stone known as the Eye of the Moon.
Sixty-Six
Rameses Gaius sat contentedly at the desk in his oval office. Everything seemed to have gone according to plan. All he needed to do now was wait for his two new High Priests to return with the merchandise he longed for.
At just after midnight the first one arrived. There was a knock at his door. Not an overly loud knock, in fact, a fairly gentle one by most standards, but perfectly audible. ‘Come in,’ he called out.
The door swung inwards, opened by a hired mercenary who had been standing guard outside. He was one of the many uniformed police officers, members of the Filthy Pigs clan, who had deserted De La Cruz and Co. in their hour of need. Gaius was a far greater leader, and all the undead were honoured to be allowed to serve him.
The guard held back the door into Gaius’s office and the slender figure of his new High Priestess and only daughter, Jessica, dressed in her traditional black outfit, marched past him and into the room. She was holding a package wrapped in thick brown cloth under her right arm. The door was closed behind her by the guard, who remained outside, and once she heard it click shut she lowered her head in acknowledgement of Gaius.
‘Father, I have the Eye of the Moon and the Holy Grail,’ she said, raising her head back up to look him in the face. ‘And the head of the monk who possessed them.’
She pulled the brown cloth package out from under her arm and, no longer able to hide her huge vampire grin, threw it over to Gaius. He caught it with both hands as he was getting up from his seat and placed it down on the desk in front of him. He picked at one of the corners of the cloth and then slowly and carefully unwrapped it. Inside was the defor
med and already somewhat shrivelled head of Peto, the last of the Hubal Monks. Gaius ran his hand through the bloodied dreadlocks on Peto’s head.
‘So, he was hiding in with the Dreads. They should be punished for not sniffing him out. If there’s any of them still alive after all of today’s killing, make sure they die before I have to see any of them again.’
‘It’ll be my pleasure,’ Jessica smiled. She reached both arms up and behind her head and unclasped a silver necklace she was wearing around her neck. Hanging from its finely worked chain was the Eye of the Moon. She saw her father’s face light up as she placed it on the desk in front of him. Then she reached her right hand down into her cleavage (of which plenty was on show in the V of her low-cut black karate top) and pulled out a gleaming golden cup. The Holy Grail. She waved it under his nose, grinning at him as she did so. ‘Now, what have you got for me?’ she asked. ‘Any news of the two bastards who shot me up during the eclipse?’
‘Both will be dead, my dear. I am just waiting for the final confirmation now.’
‘Really? How did the Bourbon Kid die?’
‘Your new partner, Bull, took him down.’ He pointed at the door. ‘That will be him now.’ Two knocks on the door followed. ‘Enter,’ Gaius called out.
The door opened once again and Bull walked in, followed by his three Shadow Company comrades. He was carrying a brown cloth-wrapped package under his arm, much as Jessica had done. Without a word he tossed it over to Gaius. The newly reinstated Dark Lord caught it, set it down and began to unwrap with much greater haste than he had the package Jessica had brought. This was the one he wanted most, unable to hide his eagerness to set eyes upon it.
The blood-stiffened brown cloth fell to the floor and Gaius kicked it aside. Another severed head had been wrapped inside the cloth, but now it was resting in the large hands of Rameses Gaius. He held it up in front of him as Jessica, Bull and his three henchmen looked on, waiting for his reaction.
‘So,’ he said, taking a deep, contented breath. ‘The head of the Bourbon Kid, the son of Taos. Doesn’t look so bad now, does he?’
The others laughed politely as Gaius stared into the one remaining eye in the bloodied mess of the head in his hands. The thick dark hair, matted with drying, thickly spattered blood, covered much of the upper part of the face, sticking to the forehead. Gaius brushed the hair aside and smiled a contented smile as he looked at the dead face of the Kid. After a few seconds he looked back up at Bull and his henchmen, barely able to contain his delight.
‘Thank you, Bull. Your position as High Priest is assured. We shall celebrate our victory with a party this coming evening.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ said Bull, bowing his head as a mark of respect.
From behind him Jessica called out to Bull in her sexiest voice. ‘Hey, soldier, whatcha got planned for the next half hour?’
Bull looked the alluring figure of Jessica up and down. ‘Well, me an’ the guys were gonna go shower. Get all this blood off, y’know?’
‘You know what?’ said Jessica, looking across at the Bull’s three companions. ‘I could use a shower too. Mind if I join you guys?’
There was an immediate and boisterous chorus of approving noises from the four soldiers, and they quickly began to head for the door.
While Jessica and the soldiers had been flirting, Rameses Gaius had taken the opportunity to remove his useless green eye and replace it with the much more aesthetically pleasing blue stone, the Eye of the Moon. As soon as it found its rightful home in his eye socket it began to glow a little in the centre. Gaius felt complete again.
From behind his desk he smiled contentedly as he watched his only daughter turn on the charm with the Shadow Company guys. Bull, in particular, seemed particularly taken with her, just as he had hoped. He nodded approvingly as the Shadow Company leader took Jessica by the hand and barked an order at one of his men. ‘Razor, open the door. Ladies first.’
Razor did as instructed and opened the door, allowing Jessica to walk out through it, wiggling her hips for the four soldiers’ benefit. As they began to file out after her, Gaius shouted after them.
‘One thing I gotta know,’ he called, looking back down at the head of the Bourbon Kid on his desk. ‘Why has he got the word “CUNT” tattooed across his forehead?’
Sixty-Seven
The night sky was still overcast, and the rain continued to fall in occasional drizzle, but the sea was tranquil, making a gently soothing sound as its small waves rippled up against the promenade. The carnage of yet another Halloween filled with bloodshed and death was over. Beth strolled along the deserted pathway gazing up at the sky as she went. This long walk home was such a gut-wrenching disappointment each year, and to make matters worse her feet were beginning to hurt. Her shoes had been soaked through in the storm, and her feet were now throbbing slightly where they had chafed against the damp leather.
She looked up to see if there were any stars visible in the night sky. The clouds were beginning to part and the blue moon was beginning to shine through once more. The faint light touched her face, as if that were the only part of the earth to feel the moon’s rays.
Where are you, JD? Whatever happened to you on that long-ago night? It was a question she had asked herself a million times over the years. I’d give anything to see you again, even just for five minutes. Just to know what happened to you. Wherever you are, I hope your soul is at peace.
As the clouds departed and the moon shone down fully upon her she heard a noise come from behind. It was the sound of a shoe scuffing on the ground. It was followed almost immediately by the sound of a voice.
‘Your mother too, huh?’
Beth’s heart skipped a beat. She turned around to see a dark figure standing on the promenade in the moonlight, just a few feet in front of her. He wore a black leather jacket, with a black T-shirt underneath and a pair of scruffy blue jeans. His face had the look of a kind and passionate soul, and showed a smile that could melt a girl’s heart.
Scarcely daring to breathe, Beth approached and stared deep into the eyes of this man, and saw within them the face of the boy she once knew.
‘Jack?’ she blurted out. ‘Jack Daniels?’
‘I’m sorry I’m late.’
‘Where have you been?’
‘I got lost along the way.’ His eyes searched hers, and he allowed himself a genuine smile for the first time in a very long while. ‘Plus I been waitin’ for you to work out my name. So, you ready for that date now, or what?’
Beth was beaming a wide smile back at him when she suddenly remembered the terrible scar across the right side of her face, inflicted on her by her stepmother eighteen years earlier. Instinctively, she put her hand up to cover it, but as she did so she realized that to do so was pointless. He’d probably already noticed it. In fact, he must have done.
‘I’ve got this scar,’ she mumbled, looking down at her aching feet, feeling shamed and embarrassed by her disfigurement.
JD reached forward with one hand and lifted her chin up. She waited nervously for his reaction, not daring to look at his face in case it revealed disappointment. His reaction was to lean in and kiss her softly on the lips. She pressed her lips warmly back against his. The feeling was every bit as wonderful as the first kiss they had shared all those years before. When eventually he pulled away again she looked him in the eyes and smiled back at him. And then, with five words, he laid all her fears to rest.
‘Babe, we’ve all got scars.’
Sixty-Eight
Sanchez, having closed up for the night, was reflecting on another shitty day. True, he’d survived another visit from the Bourbon Kid, but Jessica had gone from him again, maybe for good this time. As he sat on a stool on the customer’s side of the bar in the Tapioca, flicking through the pages of The Book of Death, he couldn’t help but feel a little down.
No doubt over the next few days the local kids would once again be running around the streets with toy guns, pretending to be the Bour
bon Kid or one of the local cops. The thought of kids idolizing known murderers and corrupt policemen really bugged him. When would he ever get to be a hero? Probably never, and yet the scummy community of Santa Mondega would be nothing without him providing a reasonably safe place for people where people could drink and socialize. His hard work, day in and day out, was simply taken for granted. Maybe he should go on a killing spree of his own, and at least earn some notoriety?
Sipping on a glass of warm beer, he tried to console himself with the belief that eventually his time would come. One day, someone like Jessica would appreciate the kindness that lay deep in his heart.* Sanchez hid his good points well, and women, in particular, seemed oblivious to what a great guy he was. He pictured Jessica’s beautiful face in his mind once more, and decided it would be best to finish his beer and then head off to bed.
To depress him further, The Book of Death hadn’t provided him with any of the answers he was looking for. There was nothing in it about Jessica or the Eye of the Moon or the Bourbon Kid, just a list of names of dead people. Flicking through it one last time, he eventually stopped at a blank page near the end. He stared sightlessly at the yellowing parchment and pondered what to do with his life from here on. No Jessica to look after, fewer customers to serve. Was it all really worth the effort?
