by Philip Henry
‘You would fight with us? Even though…’
Eileen nodded. ‘I know. If you win, it’s the end of vampires and I’ll die, but at least my children will be safe. If you lose tonight… I don’t even want to think about what could happen to them.’
Nicholl pondered for a few seconds more, then got to her feet quickly. ‘I’m not leaving you behind.’
‘You have to.’ Eileen pulled at the plastic collar around her neck. ‘I can’t leave.’
‘Bullshit. We’ll find a way.’
Eileen was close to tears. ‘Really?’
Nicholl nodded. ‘Really.’ Eileen hugged Nicholl. ‘You be ready to go on a moment’s notice.’
‘I will be,’ Eileen said, smiling. She wiped her cheeks.
Nicholl nodded for Eileen to step into the shadows before she opened the door and left.
She walked back across the communal circle towards Donna’s domicile. She was really hungry. She hoped they had saved her some. She fished the device from her pocket and stuck it in her ear. She spoke as discreetly as possible.
‘Chloe, are you there?’
There was a loud burst of engine noise in the background but she heard Chloe clearly. ‘We’re on our way. Should be there in about an hour.’
‘Stop where you are.’
The engine noise lessened and then died. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. We’re going to wait until nightfall.’
‘That’s going to cut it damn close.’
‘I know.’
‘Amanda, why are we waiting until nightfall?’
‘We’ve got a couple of complications this end. Let me speak to Dave.’
razed
Downhill, 1851
The butler already had the door open when the coach stopped. He opened the coach’s door and lowered the step.
‘Lord and Lady Moore?’
‘Yes,’ the man answered.
‘I’m afraid we had given up on you. Dinner has already begun.’
‘One of the horses threw a shoe.’
‘Please follow me through to the Dining Room. There may still be time to join the meal.’
‘Wait,’ the man commanded. He stopped just inside the doorway and carefully removed his topcoat and hat and handed them to the butler. He took the woman’s shawl and bonnet. ‘Don’t try to hurry gentry, my good man. We do everything at our own speed.’
The butler bowed.
The woman hooked her arm around the man’s and they walked slowly behind the shuffling butler. The butler thought he heard them snigger behind his back but ignored it dutifully. The butler opened the doors and entered.
‘I apologize for intruding, sir, but Lord William and Lady Margaret Moore have arrived.’
‘Wonderful. Show them in.’
The butler ushered the last two guests inside. The long dining table was filled with various meats and vegetables, though it seemed most of the other diners had already cleared their plates. The butler showed them to their seats, just two from the head of the table. They sat beside each other. The butler discreetly left.
‘So we finally meet, Lord Moore.
‘The pleasure is ours, Lord Hervey.’
‘Please, call me Frederick.’
‘Then you must call me William. I must say, I expected an older man.’
‘It’s the family name: Frederick. I am Frederick William, my father was just plain Frederick and my grandfather was Frederick Augustus.’ He looked at the newly arrived couple. ‘In fact I was just telling my other guests before you arrived how my grandfather came to build the structure behind the house.’
‘Then please continue.’
Frederick glared at them for a moment, then smiled. ‘My grandfather named it Mussenden Temple, though no worship was ever held there as far as my knowledge goes. It was named for Frideswide Mussenden, a close friend of the Hervey family who was tragically killed while visiting these shores. She was twenty-two years old.’
‘How terrible.’
The waiters filled the plates of the late arrivals. ‘Please, eat. I will be offended if your bellies are not filled to capacity,’ Frederick said. There was a gentle laugh from the table. ‘You must be hungry from your journey.’
‘My wife and I thank you for your hospitality.’
‘Not at all.’ Frederick addressed the table again. ‘My grandfather used the temple as a library. My earliest memories of childhood are of him sitting out there by himself with his books, and a wee nip of something to keep the cold out.’ Gentle laughter again. ‘Though sometimes he would just stare out the windows, across the sea. Lost in his own thoughts, I suppose. Even at that young age, he struck me as a man carrying many a burden.’ He took a drink from his wine glass and many of his guests aped him. ‘I’m sorry to say the temple has fallen into disrepair since his death. My father never used it and I rarely open its doors. I have tried to find the original blueprints, but for some bizarre reason the architect sent them to the Vatican, or so his grandson tells me.’
One of the men cleared his throat loudly and said, ‘Frederick, I think we should discuss our most pressing problem.’
‘Of course.’ Frederick nodded to his wife at the other end of the table.
She stood up and placed her napkin on her plate. ‘Ladies, I believe that is our cue to leave. We shall retire to the West Drawing Room while the menfolk discuss their business. Lady Moore, please do not rush your dinner and join us when you can. I will trust my husband to keep the conversation light in your presence.’
Lady Moore nodded and Lady Hervey returned the gesture. The ladies quickly left the dining room. When they had all left a boy no more than twenty years entered the room and closed the doors behind him. He remained silent, standing at the threshold.
‘Lady Moore, would you rather we wait until you have eaten? The business we have to discuss is not for those of a delicate disposition.’
She dabbed the sides of her mouth with her napkin before answering. ‘If I may be so bold, Frederick, I would have you know that I have read the complete works of Mister Poe and am not easily frightened.’
The men laughed heartily as they lit their cigars.
‘Then I shall continue,’ Frederick said with half a bow. ‘We are plagued in this area by vampires. Two in particular. These godless creatures kill without remorse, to satisfy their own unnatural and monstrous thirst for blood.’
‘I have heard legends of such creatures, of course. I believe one was known as the tempest. Tales of her infamy have spread the length of Ireland.’
‘Yes, Lord Moore, it is her we still seek. Some say she is hundreds of years old. She and her partner have been a blight on this land as long as anyone can remember.’
‘She is married?’
He gave a short humourless laugh. ‘I would not call it marriage. Certainly no priest or minister has blessed the union. And stories tell of them both having their way with locals while the other watches. I apologize for my language, Lady Moore. It seems they will do anything to fly in the face of what is right and proper. They have no respect for God, or for each other it seems. They are merely animals with human faces.’
‘And speaking of which, what do they look like?’
Frederick studied them before answering. ‘That’s simple, they look like you and your good lady.’
Lord Moore dropped his knife and fork and got to his feet, throwing his napkin aside. ‘How dare you, sir!’
‘Save us the theatrics, Galen. That is your name, isn’t it? And the whore at your side is Taisie.’
The two men locked eyes.
Frederick continued, ‘News reached us two days ago of the death of William and Margaret. We were well acquainted for many years. Last night you used his name to gain entrance to the home of Sir Woolsley and today gravediggers make space for his family in the local cemetery. So when I received your RSVP this afternoon, I took the liberty of replacing my guest list with agents of the Ministry of the Shield. You’re familiar with the o
rganisation?’
Galen glanced around the hardened faces of the men and swallowed hard. Taisie looked at the door and saw the boy.
‘What’s this? Taisie. Taisie the Tempest looking for an escape route? Before you decide the boy is your best chance of escape, let me tell you who he is.’ Frederick refilled his glass. ‘Even back in my grandfather’s day, it was quite clear that we were not going to beat you with strong hearts and broad shoulders. You move too fast and heal too quickly for us to do enough lasting damage. So my grandfather secretly commissioned a new area of the Ministry to find out all they could about your kind. Every story. Every myth. Every legend. We recorded it and then tried to check it for authenticity.’ He took a long gulp of wine.
‘Tell me, have you ever heard the legend of the dhampir? It is first recorded in Eastern Europe. It happens when a vampire male mates with a human female. The offspring becomes a dhampir, with the strength and power of a vampire, but none of the aversions to sunlight or crosses. A dhampir is a fighter for good. That boy standing at the door is your son, Galen. He’s waited his whole life to meet you. You killed his entire family except his mother, who you left pregnant and so badly disfigured that no man would ever look upon her with desire again.’
The boy stepped forward and drew a sword from behind his back.
‘Your sins have found you out, vampire. Now, finally, you will both pay for your murderous ways.’
Taisie flew at the boy. He leapt into the air and drove his sword into her chest as she passed. Galen was upon him in a second. The boy fought him back with combinations of punches and swipes with the sword. Galen was cut and bleeding. Taisie got to her feet. Her wound was closing, but very slowly. She needed to drink. She had starved herself all day in anticipation of a huge feast on the nobility tonight. She pulled on the doors. The women would be much easier to overpower, and if she picked the right hostage she and Galen could walk out of here. The doors wouldn’t move. She pulled again, harder. It was no use; the doors were barred from the other side.
Galen and the boy were fighting it out. Galen’s hands and arms were getting badly hurt because he had no sword to defend himself with. The men stood watching the fight, laughing, still smoking their cigars. Taisie flew at them. One of them pulled a bottle and threw the liquid in her face. The water burned her flesh like fire. She screamed and jumped back. She flew at the nearest window and smashed the glass. There were iron bars every three inches down all the windows. She grabbed the bars and pulled on them but they were set deep in the stone and wouldn’t budge.
Taisie hovered in the air, helpless. The boy was beating Galen into submission. The men laughed, drinking their whiskey and smoking their cigars.
She flew down and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the serving table and hurled it at one of the men who was relighting his pipe. The bottle smashed and the man went up in flames. Taisie grabbed all the flammable spirits from the table and started hurling them, encouraging the fire in all directions. Soon the dinner table was engulfed in flame. The curtains took the fire to the ceiling. Taisie threw a couple of bottles at the doors and soon they burned too. The men had at first tried to extinguish the flames by beating them with their jackets, but now they saw that it was useless. They ran around the dining room screaming for the doors to be released, while trying to avoid the worst of the fire.
No one was watching the fight anymore; they were all too concerned with saving their own lives. Taisie flew at the boy and punched him as hard as she could on the back of the head. The boy lifted from the ground and was stopped by the nearest wall. Taisie took Galen’s bloodied arm and helped him to his feet. She led him to the other side of the room, opposite the doors but on the other side of the table from all the choking men kicking and screaming at the burning exit.
‘As soon as that door opens we fly the hell out of here.’
Galen coughed and blood ran from his mouth, but he managed to nod.
‘And, no offence, but I think I’ve had it with these dinner parties.’ Taisie smiled at him. She was still as beautiful as ever.
‘No argument from me. This was a bad idea. Next thing we try is your choice.’
‘Really?’
Galen heard the clunking of bolts being removed on the other side of the door. They would soon be free. ‘You have somewhere in mind?’
‘I’ve always wanted to see the Americas.’
Galen smiled a bloody smile and nodded. ‘Me too.’
The doors swung open and the coughing men surged forward as one.
Taisie put her arm around Galen’s waist. ‘OK. Let’s go.’
Galen saw the boy running up behind them and drawing back his sword a fraction of a second before Taisie’s head rolled across the burning table. Her frame shrivelled to a skeleton and dropped by his feet.
Galen screamed, ‘No!’ He turned on the boy just as he swung again. Galen grabbed the blade of the sword before it hit him and held it tightly. The blade dug deep into his palms as the boy twisted and pulled on the hilt, but Galen wouldn’t let go. With all his strength he jerked the sword from the boy’s grasp.
The boy held up his palms in surrender and took a couple of steps backwards, always keeping his eyes on the vampire. Galen turned the sword around and grabbed it by the hilt in both hands. He squeezed the metal with all his rage. He took two steps quickly forwards, swung with all his might and sliced the boy in two below the rib cage. The boy fell to the ground and Galen watched as his arms flailed for his missing waist. The boy screamed until, seconds later, choking on his own blood, death found him.
Galen walked out of the burning room, the blood of his son still dripping from the sword, and left the villa unnoticed. The whole house was filled with smoke now. The fire had spread beyond the Dining Room and was climbing the stairs.
Galen sat on top of Mussenden Temple to watch the building burn. He still held the sword, determined to make an example of Frederick Hervey, but then a more appropriate punishment presented itself.
The women were led from the house and huddled together while the men formed a chain bringing buckets of water from the well. Money was offered to the servants, some of whom took it and ran back inside to return with a painting or sculpture in their grasp.
No-one was watching the women.
Dawn was just breaking. The fire had completely taken the house leaving just its outer walls standing. It was only then that the men went to find their wives. And find them they did. Neatly lain in a row on the grass, each with their head sitting in their lap.
jailbreak
Nicholl looked at the horizon and watched the orange sun sink into the sea. Two litre bottles of vodka sat open on the ground at her feet. She missed Rek. She might die tonight. He might die tonight. A lot of people might die tonight. Her platoon, which someone had named Zero Squadron, was full of enthusiasm, but she sensed that was more about leaving the island than going head-to-head with the undead. Most of them weren’t field agents, and those who were would have been retired by now if they had still worked for the Ministry. They all had basic combat training when they joined, but for some of them that was a long time ago. She hoped it all came back to them very quickly.
Was she doing these people a favour? If they lost tonight, if vampires took over the world they might not find this island for years, if ever. Though those boatloads of luxuries that arrived to satisfy their every desire would stop coming. Yes. This was the right thing to do. Besides, they all wanted to leave and fight.
She didn’t want to look around. She knew they were all watching, waiting for her signal. In the distance she heard the sound of a boat’s throttle, fully opened. Getting louder. This is the point of no return. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She took a handkerchief out of each pocket and knelt down. She pushed a handkerchief into the neck of one vodka bottle, then the other. The boat’s running lights came on. Nicholl turned the bottles upside down, soaking the handkerchiefs with the liquid. She flicked open the lighter and lit
them. She dropped the two bottles off the cliff edge onto the beach below. The boat immediately altered its course and started heading towards the flaming markers.
Nicholl turned around and shouted, ‘Everyone down to the beach!’
The doors of all the occupied domiciles opened immediately. They had all been waiting for this, some of them for a very long time. They all came running towards her.
Eileen landed beside her. ‘Anything I can do?’
‘Get to the boat.’ People rushed past them and down the slope to the beach. The boat was in as far as it could come now and the first people were starting to swim out to it.
‘As soon as everyone’s safe…’
Nicholl turned to her. ‘What?’
Eileen nodded; where the plinth had stood was now an empty hole.
‘Shit, they’re on their way.’ Nicholl pushed the people running past her. ‘Hurry! Faster!’
Two men in black uniforms raised quickly out of the plinth carrying guns. They took aim at Nicholl and opened fire. Eileen jumped between them and turned her back to the gunfire. The bullets ripped into her back as she stood face to face with Nicholl.
Nicholl winced. ‘Doesn’t that hurt?’
‘Stings a bit.’
The guards stopped firing when their clips were empty. Nicholl turned and ran down the slope to the beach. Even the slowest of the prisoners was in the water now. Eileen ran after her until a harpoon burst from her stomach. She and Nicholl locked eyes.
Eileen shook her head and said, ‘Go.’
The cable attached to the harpoon yanked Eileen backwards and dragged her back towards the plinth. Nicholl looked at the people being helped onto the boat, the others swimming. She turned and ran towards the plinth. The two men were holding Eileen as she struggled. The plinth started to descend with all three of them on it. By the time Nicholl got there it was twenty feet down. She jumped into the hole and fell into the darkness.
Everyone was throwing punches in the dark. Nicholl felt around and found a chest that definitely didn’t belong to Eileen. She held tight to it and started landing punches as hard and fast as she could to the head attached to it.
