Vampire for Hire: The Nephalem Files (Book 2)

by Douglas Wayne

  Contents

  Title

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Free Story

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Free Story

  Review

  Dead of Night Sample Chapter

  Read More

  Help Me Out

  Author's Note

  About the Author

  My Other Books

  VAMPIRE FOR HIRE

  The Nephalem Files

  Book 2

  Douglas Wayne

  VAMPIRE FOR HIRE

  THE NEPHALEM FILES

  BOOK 2

  Douglas Wayne

  Copyright © 2015 by Douglas Wayne. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental. Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

  Click or visit:

  douglaswayne.com

  This book is dedicated to my wife and kids. Without your sacrifice these books would have never been possible.

  How would you like to get an exclusive short story in the Nephalem Files Universe for FREE?

  Yes, You heard me right.

  FREE!!

  All you have to do is click the link below to join my reader's list to get your free story. You will also be kept up to date on new releases and special offers as they come up.

  Download Your Short Story Now

  - 1 -

  Never before had I been so close to a vampire. After this is over, I vowed to never get so close again. Max meant the best, sending me to Milwaukee to recover from the incident on the train. The council was upset with me over my actions in Boulder, but they promised to give me as much time as I needed to make a full recovery. Of course, that just meant it would hurt that much more if they did a mind wipe, but it was a small price to pay to get prepared.

  "Let's try this again," Eli said, adjusting the blue and gray diagonally striped tie he made me buy a week ago. It was meant to match the blue-gray suit Stacy shipped once she was back at the office though it didn't seem to work. "Why were you in Boulder?"

  "I was called in by my good friend, Detective Trevor Fields to investigate a rash of accidents in a short span."

  Eli sighed, the frustration showing on his pale face. "I know that's the truth, but you couldn't come up with something better?"

  "Like going there to commit terrorism?" I turned to the mirror and adjusted the tie to my liking. It was too late to embellish a story, not that I wanted to. If the truth wasn't good enough for a stuffy group of wizards, then it was time to cut my ties to them.

  "You couldn't tell them you were there to take down Bradley from the beginning?"

  I shook my head. "They wouldn't have sanctioned me to do that. I'm not exactly on their good side." They only called upon their most trusted people to take down the worst of us. When he wasn't doing anything better, Max was usually their go-to guy. In my case they sent Cedric Rogers, a wizard well known for his ability with fire magic. He usually played second fiddle to Max though it never seemed to bother him the way I thought it would. That's probably why he volunteered to hunt me down, just to have something to throw in Max's face.

  "For someone who could be facing death, you seem to not care about your own welfare. I'll never know what Max sees in you."

  "Probably my willingness to stand up for what I believe in," I said, taking a seat on the plush sofa in the conference room. "Or my brash stupidity."

  Eli covered his mouth, failing to hold in a laugh. "Perhaps it's your honesty."

  I let a smile creep from the corner of my mouth. "Where is Max anyway?"

  "The council decided it was best if he wasn't part of the proceedings. They wanted to make sure the only outbursts they faced came from you."

  I slammed my fist on the coffee table which sent my coffee cup tumbling to the floor, its contents rapidly staining the wolf pelt rug in the middle of the room. "That's a bunch of crap. There's one guy in the whole world who's always been in my corner, and they are going to make him sit this one out?"

  Eli strolled across the room and took a seat on the couch. "That's why Max sent me here. I may believe you are foolish for wanting to flaunt the truth, but I'm here to make sure they don't cross the line."

  "What are you going to do if they do? Bite them all?"

  He laughed before pulling out a small switch in his pocket. "Max is close enough to be at the meeting in a matter of minutes. He isn't going to let them take you without a fight, but I doubt it comes down to that."

  I shrugged my shoulders and plopped back on the couch. "I wish I had your confidence. Cedric wanted me wiped the moment he met me."

  "Which is why Max gave his statement to the high council before leaving the building. He wanted to make sure they knew you had someone up high in your corner." He pulled some paperwork out of his briefcase and sat it on my lap. "He also wanted me to let them know how you are helping the community at large."

  "Cedric will prove otherwise." Lord knows I gave him plenty of evidence to the contrary while I was in Boulder.

  "That's why we arranged to have some character witnesses present."

  I looked over at him, surprised. "Why didn't you tell me?" Part of me was worried. While I go out of my way to help my clients, I tend to be brash to those who aren't my ideal clients. Even to the point of walking away from a case if it proves unworthy. That doesn't count the ones I do help and how most of them don't approve of my methods though they are all happy with the results. I've never been one to take a case I can't handle.

  "We didn't want you to get too confident," he said, looking me over. "But it seems the news had the opposite reaction."

  "I would've talked you out of it." Call it a hunch, but I have a habit of rubbing people the wrong way. It's not that I go out of my way to tick people off, but I can't honestly say I'm willing to go the extra mile to help on my own either. Now once I get invested, it's another story as I proved in Boulder. Too bad it took Trevor's death for that to happen.

  "Surely there is a handful of people in the world you haven't angered over the years."

  I nodded. "Too bad they outnumber the other side at least six to one."

  Eli laughed and strolled across the room before taking a seat on the plush recliner in the corner. He pulled his briefcase up to his lap and opened it up before pulling a folder out. "As of now, it's Cedric's word against yours. There is plenty of precedent showing it takes a lot more than that to turn a vote."

  "Be honest with me," I said, trying to hide my nervous twitch. "What do you think about me?"

  He sat there for a second before giving his answer. "I can't give you a resounding yes, but I see enough good in you to put me at ease."

  I snorted knowing the first week he was with me I tried my hardest to run him off. Part of it was my stubbornness showing its ugly head, but that wasn't the whole story. Even through all the things Max has told me about Eli and his clan, I found it hard to let myself get close. I know I'm a youngster when it comes to the af
fairs of the supernatural, but I've never felt comfortable around vampires, werewolves, or any of the other creatures that go bump in the night. Throughout history there are plenty of examples of how the other species have used, and often abused, humanity to fulfill their needs and desires. While the whole food chain issue is part of the problem, things are more deeply seated than that.

  "What would it take for you to change your mind?" I asked, truly concerned.

  "I'd have to think on it," he said, digging back into his briefcase. "But the fact that you asked means a lot in my book."

  I tried to smile, but there wasn't one to be had. Without knowing what other's perceive as my flaws, it would be difficult to win a personality contest like the one I knew I was facing. Eli and Max may have my best intentions in mind, but I knew neither of them had been on the bad side of the council. Eli especially.

  Max was older than me, so there was a chance he had a rebellious streak when he was younger, but his current role isn't one that they hand out lightly. If I had to guess, they only give those jobs to people they trust. People who like to play by the rules.

  Sure, Max didn't have a problem bending the rules, he just does it in a way that doesn't get him caught. If I got out of this in one piece I was going to have to ask him how he did it all these years though I suspected I already knew the truth. Without cameras around to watch his every move, he had a lot more flexibility in what he did. As long as he didn't do anything to get the attention of the local news, which was slow to respond on the best of days, he was fine. Today, everybody is a potential newscaster, carrying phones in their pocket that were better than the best cameras around when Max was young, and it was only going to get worse the longer things went on.

  I was about to ask him another question, but our attention went to the door when we hear a knock. It opened a few moments later. A younger man with short black hair and a well trimmed beard poked his head in the room. He couldn't be a day over twenty if I was being generous. His outfit was a white suit jacket over a white buttoned-up shirt with a matching white tie. He didn't come in any further, but I knew he would be wearing a pair of white dress pants as well. This was the color of the servants of the council. Everyone who joins wears the colors at some point or another, usually for the first few months after you join. "The council is ready to see you, Mr. Gilmore." He didn't wait for our reaction before leaving, the door shutting softly behind him.

  "You ready for this?" Eli asked, grabbing his briefcase off the counter.

  I nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

  - 2 -

  We walked into the large council chamber in the middle of the building. Like the rest of the place, everything was painted with a fresh coat of white before the proceedings. It was meant to be a symbol of purity, and of justice. To me it was always a symbol of being compulsive to the point of being obsessive.

  In the back of the room, the high council sat around two small tables in the center of the room. High Wizard Elliot Wade sat in the middle of the group, wearing his elegant white robes. He was a dark skinned man, born to one of the resident tribes in South Africa. Because of his tribal upbringing, he had a tendency to look at the big picture before making his judgments. As odd as it may sound, his was the voice that mattered least in the hearings. He worked more as an overseer and as a tiebreaker in case the other six judges were split, something that didn't happen often.

  To his right were Daxton Lucas, Ashton Stokes, and Jolene Morales. The three of them represented the wizards in the western hemisphere with Daxton being the one I answer directly to. He wasn't going to be any help for me since he was the one to call for the hearing. It wasn't unusual for the patrons to do that, but they usually act on their own. Apparently Cedric had him deep in his pocket because he was the one that pushed Daxton to do it.

  On the High Wizard's left were Hana Martin, Zaniyah Velez, and Arima Tabito. They were the representatives from the eastern hemisphere. I always thought it was weird that both hemispheres were represented equally even though the population of the east is much higher than the west. But, over the years, it had never been an issue for either side.

  Eli escorted me to the table on the left. He set his briefcase in the center before pulling out the chair for me. It felt odd to get this type of treatment, but I went with it.

  Eli barely had a chance to sit before the door behind us opened again. Cedric Rogers walked into the room, wearing a full white suit, like the rest of the council. His clean shaven face accentuated the scars on his cheeks. A constant reminder of what can happen if you let down your guard. In his early days, he was jumped by a pack of werewolves in upstate New York. I never got the full story out of Max, but the short version had Cedric barely making it out of there with his life. Both of his cheeks were ripped open during the attack, exposing the jaw and teeth in his mouth. Instead of seeking magical healing, like any sane person would with a wound like that, he opted to have the holes sewed shut, leaving him with the scars.

  "High Wizard," he said, stopping to bow a few feet from his seat. "And the rest of our esteemed council." He stood up and regarded me with a smile before taking his seat at the table to my right.

  It took everything I had to keep my cool, the look in Eli's eyes told me he knew it too. Having him between Cedric and me would keep me from doing anything too foolish, though it wouldn't prevent an outburst. I had to do that on my own.

  High Wizard Wade stood up in front of his chair. "The council has been called to hear the case against Wizard Raymond Gilmore. He is accused of using magic in an attempt to harm the muggle community, one of our most grievous crimes. As this council knows, we take this charge seriously though not without due process." He took a few steps forward, stopping a few feet in front of my table. "Do you understand the charges levied against you, Mr. Gilmore?"

  I stood up. "I do."

  "Good." He limped back to his chair, his knees wobbling as he supports the weight of his body in the arms. "Wizard Cedric Rogers, please state your case."

  Cedric opened his briefcase and pulled out five different stacks of paper, arranging them in neat piles on his desk. He picked up a pile and handed a sheet of paper to each of the councilors, then over to my desk to hand a copy to us. It was a newspaper clipping announcing the act of terrorism against the Delta flight. The official government investigation was still ongoing as they've never been able to pin it on me. Thanks to the efforts of Sam Calwell, my friend who helps maintain the federal database, all mention of me being in Boulder was wiped out. The only remnants being newspaper clippings like this, none of which had my name attached to them.

  "My first piece of evidence is this newspaper clipping from his attack on the Delta Airlines jet at Denver International Airport. Mr. Gilmore is accused of attacking the plane while it attempted to take off on the runway."

  Eli stood up, holding the paper in his hands. "Your honor, there is no mention of a name on this newspaper clipping. Where is the proof that Mr. Gilmore was responsible."

  Cedric laughed before passing another stack of papers around the room. "These are the eyewitness accounts of the events at the airport that day." He pointed to one of the remarks in the middle. "A blue car approached us at a high rate of speed. The driver stuck his arm out the window and created a ball of fire that he threw at the plane." Cedric put the paper down on his desk and regarded the council. "Contrary to what Mr. Gilmore would like you to believe, he was at the airport that day driving his," he pulled out a picture of my car, "blue Ford Edge. He bought the car earlier that day under one of his many aliases."

  "Why does a wizard of your esteem need an alias, Mr. Gilmore?" High Wizard Wade said.

  "Money has been tight. My friend, Sam Calwell, has given me names of the deceased to use in times of crisis. When I lost my car the night before I became in need of a vehicle, so I used one of the identities to purchase it."

  "A way to scam the common people, High Wizard," Cedric said, frowning. The council gasped before whispering to each other
quietly.

  "I always pay the debts," I said, trying hard to keep my voice calm.

  "By my records," he pulled out another piece of paper. "The car is already up for repossession. The finance company has been unsuccessful in its attempts to secure payment or the car."

  I jolted to my feet. "I've been recovering in Milwaukee for the last three months."

  "To hide from your debtors, no doubt."

  Eli grabbed my hand and pulled me to my seat before I could do something stupid. Cedric was trying to damage my already fragile character in front of the council and was doing a damn good job of it. I didn't have a reason, or excuse, for not paying for the car since I cashed the check from the Boulder police department a month ago. If there is something I've always had trouble with, it is letting money go. I've always been a penny pincher, watching every dime as it comes in and goes out. To be fair, I haven't been at the office to approve or decline any payments, so Stacy has probably been paying the necessities. Rent, power, water, the stuff that keeps the office running. A car bill probably escaped her notice if I even remembered to get the bill sent to the office anyways.

  "Mr. Gilmore intends to pay the car off in full, once he is through with this hearing."

  "And where would he be getting the money? We are well aware how little work he's getting recently."

  "That's for me to worry about," I scowled. "I didn't know my finances were part of the council's business."

  "They aren't, Mr. Gilmore," High Wizard Wade said, stroking his long gray beard. "The council must disregard all mention of Mr. Gilmore's finances from the record." He glared at Cedric. "If you cannot refrain from attacking his character, we can gladly have another hearing after this one."

  Cedric nodded. "Understood." He waited a moment for the commotion to settle down before handing another stack of papers around. "What you hold in front of you are the medical records from the National Guard unit stationed at the airport that day. As you see, there are four cases of PTSD listed as well as one Staff Sergeant Davis, who is still recovering from injuries sustained when he fell into a chasm created by Mr. Gilmore."