by I D Johnson
“Christian!” Aaron shouted. He watched as the other man shook his head, as if trying to clear it. They needed to act now before the Vampires organized. He looked to Ward, waiting for an order, but he realized Ward might be of little use. He was staring at the redheaded woman who floated near him as if he might eat her for dessert. “Ward?” Aaron called.
There was no answer, and the woman began to beckon him over. Before the entire team fell into disarray, Aaron decided there was only one thing he could do.
“Catherine, go!” he shouted. The blonde didn’t need to be told twice, and she jumped into action, flying at the brunette and knocking her to the ground. “Christian, you and Margot have got the blonde.” Checking over his shoulder, he saw that Clive was climbing from under the casket lid, which meant he was okay, but Aaron didn’t have time to check on him now.
“Morris, go help Ward,” Aaron instructed, thinking that sending two males might not be the best plan, but he was out of options, and since neither of them could be killed by the redhead, at least they could keep her busy while he helped Catherine.
She was quick, and even though the Vampire had some tricks up her sleeve, Catherine appeared to be holding her own. “I hate the flying kind!” Catherine shouted as he rushed over. Just as it appeared the Hunter had her prey pinned, the Vampire shrieked and bucked her off, sending Catherine crashing into the nearby coffin, which fell off its stand and tumbled onto the ground, shaking the entire room.
Aaron glanced back to see she was okay and then launched himself at the brunette Vampire. “Oh, you’ve come to me,” she purred. Aaron refused to look into her eyes, which helped, though he could still feel her pulling on his mind. Thinking it might work to his advantage, he smiled at her, and as she pulled him against her chest, he ran his hands up her sides. “Yes,” she whispered. “Touch me, darling. Make me yours.”
The feel of her hands running up his back, her breath on his neck, was both arousing and sickening at the same time. She was using his own memories against him, and for a moment he thought he was holding Aislyn. A nice trick, but one he was strong enough to overcome. He heard Catherine calling his name, and at the sound of her voice, he slipped his hand up to the Vampire’s neck, clutching it from behind. As he squeezed, she howled. He had used her own hoax on her, something she wasn’t ready for.
But she was strong, and her arms and legs were free. She sunk her claws into his neck and raised her legs in an attempt to kick him off. He used his knee to block her, but the force caused him to lose his balance, and they both fell to the floor.
He looked up into her grimacing face. The strain on her neck was beginning to drain her, but as strong as she was, it might take hours at this rate before he could defeat her. He heard Catherine shout, “Roll her!” and even though he wasn’t quite sure what she had in mind, he followed her instructions, flipping over rapidly so that he was now on top of the brunette Vampire.
Catherine acted quickly. As soon as he had the vixen on her back, Catherine plunged a stake into her heart. The Vampire shrieked, her eyes wide in horror and pain. But then, she began to laugh, and Aaron realized it would take more than one stake to defeat a being this powerful.
“Her head!” he shouted to Catherine. “It’s got to be her head.” He still had a grip on her neck, and he could feel that her powers were fading more rapidly since the stake had been inserted, but she still wasn’t giving up.
Catherine brought her elbow down hard right into the Vampire’s face, which angered her immensely, and she began to try and buck Aaron off. “Well, that didn’t work,” the Hunter muttered.
“You think?” he agreed.
Catherine looked around the room, as if she wasn’t sure what she could use to decapitate the monster. “Pull it off, Catherine,” he shouted, beginning to lose patience.
“With what?”
Aaron hadn’t realized this technique wasn’t part of every Hunter’s repertoire. “With your hands!”
Her eyes widened, and it was quite clear she’d never done something like that before. She didn’t hesitate though. She dropped back down to her knees, and placing once on each side of the struggling Vampire’s head, she slid her hands around the top of her head and the bottom of her jaw and began to pull. Nothing happened.
“Sides of her head,” Aaron said, trying to stay calm and patient. “Where your knees are. Side to side.”
Switching positions, Catherine had better luck, and with a few sharp twists, the brunette Vampire’s head came off. Catherine was still clutching it in her hands when the Vampire shriek filled the air around them. This time, it was more like a haunting song, and as the body Aaron straddled turned to ash, the head also disappeared, leaving only the sounds of battle around them.
Surveying the area, Aaron saw that Margot was on the ground, blood pouring from a wound on her arm. Christian was standing in front of her, as if offering a shield, while Clive struggled with the blonde Vampire. “Go get her,” Aaron instructed, sending Catherine over to help defeat the temptress.
Shifting his attention to the other side of the room, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Both Morris and Ward were lying on top of the redheaded Vampire on the floor, kissing and caressing her, their faces covered in blood where her fangs had punctured their faces. Soft moans called out to him, and Aaron quickly realized she hoped to ensnare him, too.
He wasn’t sure if his previous tactic of pretending to be pulled in by the siren’s song would work again or not, but he was also too tired to try. While it was clear neither Ward nor Morris would be able to help presently with the attack, at least they had her arms tied down. That should help. He knew he’d have to get at her head, but the stake had seemed to weaken her sister, so he decided to go that route first.
Kneeling down next to Morris on the floor, stake in hand, he shoved the massive bald head aside to clear his target. She could see what he was about to do and began to fight against the Guardians to free her arms, but by the time she wiggled her left arm free, he’d already plunged the stake down into her chest. She gasped and began to buck, trying to fight off her would-be lovers and get at the Guardian who attacked her.
“A little help, Ward?” Aaron called, and as his boss looked up at him, there was a flicker of recognition. He glanced down at the Vampire and shifted his body weight so that he was on top of her just in time for Aaron to work his hands around her head. Morris continued his amorous actions even as Aaron began to twist the head off of the lovely beast.
He understood immediately why it had been so difficult for Catherine. Something about the power of these particular Vampires made it even harder to decapitate them. He twisted and pulled, and she fought against him, though Ward holding her down helped. “Counter!” Aaron shouted, and Ward recognized the order, turning the body of the Vampire to the right as Aaron twisted to the left. Despite Morris’s deadweight, the tactic worked, and a few seconds later, the head came free, unleashing a second siren’s song into the night.
The blonde was not as easily corralled as her two sisters. Even with four of the team members focused on her, she had yet to come down. Aaron didn’t wait to see if Morris had come around or if Ward was completely back with them as he ran over to assess the situation.
Margot’s arm was severed at the elbow; he could see that now. Christian was no longer able to guard her as he was entangled in the fight with the siren. Margot looked as if she might pass out at any second. He realized he needed to go get help; if Morris was able to heal her at all, according to Christian, he couldn’t take care of a problem of this magnitude.
“Morris, see what you can do,” Ward demanded, absently wiping at his face where the blood was beginning to dry. “Aaron, go get another Healer.”
Aaron was hesitant. He might be the fastest, but he wasn’t sure he could leave Ward to oversee the rest of the hunt. Was he himself again, or could the blonde pull him under her spell the way the redhead had?
“Go!” he ordered, jumping into the fray with the others.
He was fairly certain he remembered how to get back to where they’d come from, though he wasn’t sure if he should go find a medic himself or go to basecamp and ask Jordan to send one. The sounds of battle seemed to come from every floor, and as he reached the top of the last flight of stairs, he saw a group off down a side corridor entangled with menacing looking black forms that must also be some special type of Vampire he’d yet to encounter.
Aaron sprinted across the entryway, headed toward the front doors which were wide open. As he neared the exit, he heard a commotion on the stairs. He looked up to see a blue mist floating down toward him, coming from one of the upper floors. The pounding of boots on the stairs and shouts of, “Stop him!” followed, and Aaron could see Van leading the charge down the stairs.
This blue mist was Dracula.
Unable to fully believe what was happening, Aaron did the only thing he could think of that might prevent the Impaler from escaping. Rushing toward the doors, he slammed them shut and then put himself directly between the blue mist and the only visible exit.
Before his very eyes the mist began to take form, and before he could realize what was happening, the most malevolent face he’d ever seen hovered in front of him. The skin was pale, the eyes black holes, the teeth, razor sharp, dripping with blood.
Fear washed over him, but Aaron knew Dracula could not kill him—at least he didn’t think he could. “You shall not pass,” Aaron said in the most menacing voice he could muster.
The pounding footsteps drew closer, but he did not avert his eyes to see how close Van was. Staring into the black eyes, he watched as the face twisted into a grimace, and before he could even register what was happening, he found himself flying through the air. The last thing he saw was a blur of Van engaging Dracula in battle as his head cracked against the stone wall and he slid to the floor.
Someone was calling his name. She was distant, and while he was almost certain it wasn’t Aislyn’s voice, he thought for a moment, what if it was? What if he was dead, and Aislyn had come to greet him on the other side? Wouldn’t that be lovely?
His eyes felt heavy, but his head no longer ached. He was quite certain it had before, though he didn’t know when, and he didn’t know why. He managed a blink, and then with some effort, he willed his eyes to come open. The room seemed bright, sideways, and was spinning. He decided to close his eyes again.
“Aaron?” another voice called. “Open your eyes.”
He knew he recognized that voice, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Jamie’s familiar face, though he wasn’t sure why he had two of them. He shook his head in an attempt to focus, but that sent a radiating pain through his skull.
“Stay still,” the woman’s voice said quietly, and he realized he was resting on someone’s lap, though his head was turned to the side so he couldn’t see who it was. The crimson dress looked familiar.
“He’s all right,” Jamie was saying to the woman. “I’m sure he has a concussion, but he’ll recover.”
“A conc—what?” she asked.
“A concussion. It just means his brain moved around a bit inside of his skull.”
“Oh,” woman voice replied, “well, I guess that’s one way to verify he has one.”
“Ha ha,” Jamie laughed. “Good one.”
“Stop making jokes at my expense woman voice,” Aaron mumbled, not even sure if he could hear him.
“Aaron, it’s me, Catherine,” she called. “Are you all right? Do you want to try and sit up?”
With a little effort, Aaron found himself sitting up in what appeared to be the main entryway of a castle. The only thing he really remembered was the stone wall behind him. They had had an intimate connection.
“How are you feeling?” Jamie asked. Aaron noticed he was wearing gloves.
“Okay,” Aaron muttered.
“I didn’t do anything to heal you, just assessed the damage. Do you think I need to do anything else?”
“No,” Aaron replied. Let him save his powers for people who might really need it.
“All right then. I’m off,” he said. “Let me know if he needs anything,” he added to Catherine as he hurried off.
As Aaron watched a number of individuals bustling about, glimpses of what had happened the night before came back to him, and he not only remembered being tossed into the wall by Dracula, he also recalled the battle in the basement. “How’s Margot?” he asked.
“She’ll live,” the Hunter assured him. “Once Morris was able to get the bleeding to stop, we got the blonde Vampire, and then Christian ran to get help. The battle with Dracula was still going on up here, and it took him a while to find assistance. Eventually, another Healer made it down, and they got it under control.”
Aaron wanted to nod, but his head still hurt, so he only blinked. “Did we get him?”
“Hell, yes,” Catherine replied. “Thanks to you.”
“To me?” Aaron repeated, turning his head quickly, and then wishing he hadn’t. “I didn’t do anything. I functioned as a plaything, a ball, which the Vampire tossed across the room with no problem.”
She laughed and it was a melodic tinkle. “That’s not what Van said. I mean, she did say he tossed you across the room, but she said that you slammed the door in his face and slowed him down long enough for her team to get there. If it hadn’t been for you, he would’ve escaped.”
Aaron couldn’t imagine he had done much of anything to help the famed Vampire Hunter end her prey, but it was no sense in saying any more about it now, since Catherine wasn’t there when it had happened and had already heard both sides of the story. “Do you know where Ward is?”
Catherine’s expression changed, and Aaron would’ve been worried if he thought there was any chance the Guardian might’ve actually been harmed in the fray, which was highly unlikely. “He’s meeting with Jordan. He asked all of the leaders to come down. The rest of the team is making sure we didn’t miss anything and basically burning anything Dracula may have touched, just to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.”
“Seems odd,” Aaron muttered.
“Yes, but that’s what Van directed them to do, so they are doing it. We should get you back down the mountain.”
“Is Ward okay?” he asked, going back to the face she’d made when he’d mentioned his name.
“He is physically, but I think he’s upset at himself for what happened last night.”
Aaron remembered. His leader had let the Vampire get to him. Aaron had ended up taking control of most of the battle. “Well, it’s understandable,” he muttered, though he wasn’t sure it was.
“He doesn’t think so, I guess,” she shrugged. “Come on. There are a lot of people waiting to see you.”
That thought did not make him feel good about making the long trip back down the mountain at all. Though he’d wanted a leadership position, he didn’t want fame or accolades. He only wanted the opportunity to use his skills to help the most people. The fact that some of the others thought he was some sort of a hero now was certainly not part of what he had bargained for. Neither was becoming the London leader because Ward had lost confidence in himself or felt that he needed to step aside, and he was hopeful that neither of those things would happen, but perhaps Jordan would hear of his leadership skills from the night before and give him an opportunity in another area to show what he could do.
He owed so much to Ward. He’d taken him in, trained him, stuck with him even when he was depressed and discouraged over Aislyn’s death. He hoped that his friend would be able to let what had happened last night go and forget about it. They needed him. Aaron needed him.
Chapter 11
The Atlantic Ocean, 1912
“Do you think I should wear the blue tie or the red one?” Christian asked, holding each choice up to his neck in front of the full-length mirror.
“Hell, I don’t know. Wear them both,” Aaron repli
ed.
“Someone’s a bit touchy tonight,” Christian said, turning to look at him.
“Someone takes forever to get dressed and then still can’t decide what he’s wearing.” Aaron dropped into a chair across the room, hopeful that Christian would get himself together before dinner. He knew he should’ve come at least fifteen minutes after Christian suggested so that he would actually be ready to go.
“Maybe the gray one,” Christian mumbled. “Where is the gray one?” He disappeared, and Aaron eyed the bottle of Scotch sitting on the counter, figuring he probably had time for at least one drink before his partner was ready to go.
After the Dracula hunt, Jordan Findley had requested to meet with him privately. Apparently, Ward had not only let the Leader know that Aaron had saved their mission, Van had also sung his praises. While Aaron insisted he hadn’t done anything beyond what was expected of him, Findley announced that he would now be the new Southampton Area Leader, and since the team was new, he could choose some recruits to go with him from a list of those who had recently voiced they might be up for a transfer.
Christian wasn’t exactly happy to be moving to Britain, and Aaron finally found out why. Having served in the patriot army during the American Revolution, Christian was not fond of anything British, even all these years later. But he had come, and Aaron found him to be reliable and a hard worker.
He’d also taken Catherine, and thinking of her made his irritation at Christian dissipate a bit. She would be meeting them at dinner—if they ever made it there. While he still wasn’t willing to take Vicky’s advice and open his heart, he very much enjoyed Catherine’s company. There was a possibility he might actually take a chance on love again someday.
But not today. Today, they had one mission: destroy the Vampire.
“All right, I’m ready,” Christian said, and Aaron looked up to see he had actually selected a black tie.
Shaking his head, he said, “Let’s go before you change your mind.”
They made their way down the Grand Staircase into the First Class dining hall. The social elite on both sides of the pond had done anything they could to get a ticket on the maiden voyage of this particular vessel, and glancing around the room, the crowd resembled the local gossip papers. J.J. Aster, Ben Guggenheim, Lady Duff Gordon, the Countess of Rothes, and so many other rich people he couldn’t name them all, milled around the room, complimenting each other on their attire and their acquisitions.
