The Cactus Killer (The Inglewood Chronicles)

by Jeremy Croston

  “Umm, hello?”

  “Is this Victor Inglewood?”

  “Yes, yes it is. Whom do I have the pleasure of talking to?”

  “Victor, my name is Cristof Rollins and I am the chairman of the council of vampires for North America.”

  Holy shit, this was the big wig. “I am honored sir, I hope I did not disrespect you.”

  I am pretty sure he laughed. “Elizabeth said you were old soul and I like that. Victor, I asked to talk to you so I could request a favor from you. I am flying into Santa Fe tomorrow and I want you and Elizabeth to act as my personal escort back to Full Moon. Times are dangerous right now and I need people I can trust. Would you do this for me?”

  “Sir, I’m no longer sheriff of this town.”

  “I do not care about that Victor, Elizabeth has her full trust in you and your actions from her reports prove to me you know what the hell you are doing.”

  “Very well sir, if you can send over an email with your itinerary on it, I will get up the protection detail for you.”

  “Excellent, then I shall see you tomorrow. Now before I go, I have one piece of advice. Say yes to the question Elizabeth is about to ask you.” And with that the line went dead.

  I handed her back her phone. “You’re going to ask me some sort of question?”

  “I know giving up the post of sheriff was something that you did with a heavy heart. You are too good at what you do to not be in a position like that.”

  “I let Jacobs down, her death is on me and that won’t change until I put this guy in the ground. That is not something I can do as sheriff.”

  “It is something you can do as the chief inspector of the southwest, however.”

  I scratched me head, vampires were good at one thing and that was confusing me. “What is this nonsense you are spewing? What is a chief inspector?”

  “As head of a territory it is within my rights to assign a person to what would essentially be the law enforcement of the entire territory. We call it the chief inspector and it has been vacant since the last one transferred to the northwest. I want to know if you would be up for the job.”

  “I smell a catch here…”

  “There is one detail you might not be too comfortable with, but I hope that the other perks of the job cover that.”

  “We can get to the perks anytime. What’s the catch?”

  “You would have to move to Arizona. Your office would be right beside mine.”

  Chapter 18

  It was late, but that didn’t stop us from having a family meeting. I called dad and told him what the vampires were offering. Within ten minutes, mom called me back and said to be over at ten that evening so everyone in the pack had a chance to discuss the matter.

  When I got to their house, my younger brother, Felix met me at the door and we walked to the backyard, which also served as the official meeting ground of the Red pack. Everyone else was in their wolf form, except for Felix and, of course, me. Dad led them in the howling to signal the start of the meeting and over the next ten minutes, I just sat there listening. Just like every other occasion, it just reminded me of how different I was. I also thought about the words Liz had said about breaking off and being my own person.

  Finally, after all the formalities were met, everyone transformed back into their human forms and my part was about to begin. Dad, being the Alpha, took the floor. “As you all know, the vampires have offered one of our own a great position. My son, Victor, has been offered their position of chief inspector. If any among us see reason he should not go, please let your voice be heard.”

  I looked around; no one said anything at first. In fact, my older brother Bernard gave me a quick thumbs up. It seemed like I would be given the okay which then meant the ball would be in my court. I hadn’t made my choice yet, but if the pack supported it, I knew which way I was leaning.

  “Let the vampires have our reject I say! We have wasted too many of our resources on him up to this point!”

  Silence filled the air after that outburst. Everyone was looking around to see who said that. Our pack was the smallest in Full Moon, but we still had over eighty wolves present. It didn’t take long to figure it out as my cousin, Kano, made his way to the front. I was quite surprised as we had little interaction and I couldn’t remember spitting in his cereal.

  “Kano!” Dad’s voice boomed through the huge space that was his backyard. “Why have you disrespected a member of the pack in such a way?”

  “We coddle him too much! I, for one say, we oust the Omega fully from our ranks. If they want him, they can have him.”

  Yeah, I was the Omega of our pack. Not that anyone treated me differently, but I wasn’t involved in most pack meetings because of my handicap and so by rights, I was the Omega. It wasn’t a big deal to me, but to others I guess it was. “Well Kano, you certainly won’t be on my Christmas card list anymore.”

  That brought a few chuckles from the group, which I guess only added fuel to Kano’s fire. “How dare you talk to me like that, Omega? I have half a mind to challenge you for rites.”

  One thing I never learned was to keep my mouth shut. “Well, we agree on one thing, you only have half a mind.”

  I crossed the line. Dad could not interfere on my behalf with this, as any issue between two pack members was to be dealt by each other. My smart mouth had pushed Kano too far now. “That’s it Victor, I challenge you to rites of the pack!”

  Rites of the pack basically meant a challenge for position. As I am the lowest of the low, this challenge was probably designed to have me expelled. “What would you gain from this, Kano?”

  “If I win, you must leave the pack, and by extension the town, and never return.”

  “Okay, and if I win, you get to become Omega, how does that sound?”

  “It matters not, Victor. How to you expect to be victorious when you can’t unleash your wolf?”

  This wasn’t some drunk and disorderly wolf to knock around long enough to sober up, so he had a good point. Another fact that he didn’t know was that I was just about on my deathbed not even twenty-four hours ago. Granted I felt fine, but I could see mom and dad’s faces in the shadows. Both were incredibly worried. Dad composed himself and stepped forward.

  “Victor and Kano have both agreed to challenge of rites. Do both of you understand what the demands of each are?” We both nodded. “As Alpha, I accept either outcome as final. Does either participant wish to forfeit?”

  Kano scoffed, “Never.”

  Dad looked at me. “Not on your life.”

  “Then prepare yourselves, the rites begin now!”

  Kano wasted no time in transforming into his Red wolf and charged. His snarling face showed off an impressive set of fangs. I braced myself for his attack and decided my best chance was to throw a punch just before he got to me. About ten feet before he got to me, he jumped into the air. As he closed, I felt a rush of adrenaline and timed my punch. I connected hard into the side of his face and sent the wolf sprawling.

  “Holy crap!” That was Felix summing it up wisely. Just like that it was over. Kano couldn’t get to his feet and soon transformed back into a human which was the sign for defeat. His eyes were both black and blue and he was missing two front teeth. He tried to get to his feet, but he collapsed again.

  Dad broke out of his shocked stupor, “Victor Inglewood has emerged the winner. Does anyone dispute this outcome?”

  More silence, but it didn’t last long this time. Soon the whole pack was cheering and Bernard came over and put me up on his shoulders. I was no longer the Omega wolf!

  **Elizabeth**

  I was curious about the customs of werewolves, so I snuck over to the meeting with Reno. Phil kept watch at the house just in case anything went wrong. Reno and I watched from a nearby rooftop and to be honest, it was rather boring at first with all the howling.

  “I’ll never understand these fur balls. I like Vic, but if he was a full-on werewolf, I think we would need to look into
another candidate.”

  “Reno, just because we do not understand their culture does not make it less inferior to ours; though the howling would get old, would it not?”

  While we both laughed, the howling finally subsided into a more civil meeting. Again, nothing out of the ordinary and it seemed as if everything would go smoothly. That was until one rather arrogant wolf decided to make his feeling known to the rest.

  “That guy seems like a jerk. Why can’t he just be happy or at the very least keep his mouth shut?”

  “Jealousy breeds contempt Reno, especially in a pack like system. “

  “Do you know what an Omega is?”

  I had heard the term before, and knew it was derogatory in the werewolf world. “Vic is the lowest member of the pack; that is what Omega means.”

  “That doesn’t make sense; he seems to be the most creative and smartest of the bunch. This Kano idiot should fill that role.”

  “I have a feeling it has more to do with Vic’s condition that does not allow him to transform. It makes sense the pack views him as the weakest member.”

  “It still sounds like a bunch of bullshit in my book.”

  We continued to watch as the matter escalated. Vic, using sarcasm as his weapon of choice, unfortunately brought this confrontation to a boiling point. What started out as just a disagreement had quickly dissolved into some sort of werewolf duel.

  “Should we get involved Ambassador?”

  “No, this is not our fight, Reno. If we interfered, it would bring even more shame to Vic. We must trust in our friend.”

  Inside I wanted nothing more than to step in. It was not even a day since we had to perform a miracle to keep him alive and I had no idea what sort of shape he was in. Reno and I continued to watch as Callum went over the rules of engagement between the two. If Vic lost, he would never be able to return to his home.

  “This is pretty serious isn’t it?”

  I nodded, “Yes, yes it is.”

  Kano soon turned into a large wolf with red fur and a mouthful of daggers for teeth. Vic, on the other hand, just stood there with a hard look on his face. The wolf charged him and I saw a slight shift in his stance, he was preparing for an attack. The wolf jumped at him and as he pulled back to throw a punch, I saw a flash of red in his eyes, just like a vampire gets when they transform. That was followed by a punch that ended the fight just as quickly as it started. Both Reno and I sat there stunned.

  “Ambassador, did you see his eyes before he connected with that punch?”

  “I did. It would appear my blood gave him quite the boost there.”

  “I’ll say, I’m surprised that other wolf isn’t dead.”

  I looked back down, and Kano had transformed back into his human form. He was in bad shape, black eyes and missing teeth. He promptly collapsed as the pack started cheering for Vic’s effort. I smiled to myself, as I think this was the first time he felt truly a part of his own family.

  “Come Reno, we have watched enough. He has earned the right to celebrate with his family this evening.”

  “You’re right ma’am. But damn, that punch was amazing. I felt it up here.”

  As we prepared to jump back to the street, I glared at Reno. “Do not call me ma’am; you know it makes me feel old.”

  As we jumped down, I am pretty sure he mumbled ‘you are old.’

  Chapter 19

  “I’m going to take the job. The pack gave me the okay if I want to and I decided I want to.”

  She looked at my skeptically. “This is not one of your silly jokes? Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I think it is time for me to expand my horizons. A little disagreement last night reminded me that even if I am respected, I will never truly be a wolf. I want to blaze my own trail if you will.” She didn’t need to know all the details.

  “I am sure Cristof will be pleased with your decision. You two are kindred spirits; you will see once you meet him.”

  “Well it’s five in the morning, so I suggest we both get a little shut eye. Your boss, according to the email, is due in Santa Fe at seven tonight and I would like to be well rested the first day on the job.”

  “It has been quite a long week; I think I will take you up on that. I am a few days overdue for my rest as well. I am starting to feel the drain.”

  I was about to reply with some sort of grandma joke, but I thought better of it. I wandered upstairs and put on my flannel sleeping pants, turned the air conditioner down to a cool sixty-eight and promptly fell asleep.

  I woke up around one in the afternoon feeling great. I had slept really well, except I could have sworn I felt someone cuddle up to me at one point. Well, I was alone when I woke up and chalked it up to a dream. When I came downstairs, Liz was in the kitchen again drinking her coffee. I am pretty sure she spiked it with blood, but I never asked. I was worried that she might be getting low and after making pleasantries, I asked.

  “I know you have been here longer than you planned, so how are you doing on food?”

  “I am down to my last two bottles. That should get me through tonight and tomorrow, but I will need to get some more soon.”

  That might present a problem. “I guess worst case scenario you could take another hit off me, just don’t leech me dry, I need it too.”

  “That is sweet, Vic and if I need to, I will let you know. My hope is Cristof brought some and that will not be necessary.”

  “What about Reno and Phil, are they doing okay?”

  “I have been sharing mine with them. That is why I am pretty low.”

  “Then why don’t you leave the last two for them tonight and seriously, just take some of mine. I need to make sure you are good to go tonight just in case anything happens.”

  I wasn’t sure if she would take up the offer but after a moment she relented. “Okay, I will, but only just enough to get me through the evening.”

  I held out my arm and turned away. Just because I was a gentlemen didn’t mean I still wasn’t a bit freaked out by it. It didn’t hurt nearly as bad this time and after a few minutes the stinging sensation went away.

  “Thank you, Vic. You may want to get something to eat, it will help with the dizziness you have.”

  Sure enough, she was right. As soon as I ate a few hot dogs left over from the other evening, I felt a lot better. “Well, we have about a four hour drive to Santa Fe. I suggest we leave here around three, just to get there around the same time as the plane. Then we should have about thirty minutes to scout the area and make sure everything checks out.”

  “Alright, that sounds like a good plan. Let us get ready then.”

  A little while later, we were on the road to Santa Fe. Liz vetoed using my Mustang, as she said Cristof was used to a certain level of comfort and the Jaguar would provide that. That also meant I was relegated to the passenger seat and she took to calling me things like navigator and co-pilot.

  For the first part of the trip, we just listened to the radio. I knew a really good classic rock station that didn’t spam commercials all the time, and we got into a groove singing along. After one particularly off-key rendition of a popular rock ballad, laughter got the best of us and ended our short lived dreams of forming a band.

  “Now this is how a road trip is supposed to be, fun. We should’ve packed up sodas and beef jerky.”

  “You and your abhorrent eating habits! It astonishes me that you are in such good condition. If I did not know who you were and saw your refrigerator, I would have placed money that you were overweight and a heart attack waiting to happen!”

  “What can I say, a wolf has good metabolism. Don’t shoot me; I just signed for the goods.”

  After a dirty look, followed by some scary driving as Liz tried to merge onto the highway, I decided it was time to ask some more questions.

  “So, what is this Cristof like? I imagine him to be one scary hombre.”

  I could see her brain working from behind her sunglasses, probably thinking of a way to explain h
im that wouldn’t make my head explode. “Cristof Rollins is the oldest vampire in North America and second oldest only to Roderick, the head of Europe.”

  I heard that name before. “Is this the same Roderick that rebelled against your folks?”

  “The very same, though now he goes by Rod. Poor Rod just wants to fit in with today’s society and as such, is more like a wealthy teenager.”

  “It’s hard to picture millennia old vampires acting like teenagers.”

  “Keep in mind we never technically grow up. The age of maturity or the year we are turned is when we stop aging. For some that also means the mind too.”

  So that explained why Liz looked younger than even me. That in itself could be considered a curse. “Sounds like Peter Pan syndrome if you ask me.”

  “Do not joke about the name Peter Pan. He is very much real and a vampire I hope you never have the misfortune to cross him.”

  “Stop pulling my leg lady.”

  “I tell you the truth. The year was 1806 and a vampire came across a young boy, no more than fourteen years old, who had been mauled by a bull. The vampire saved the boy from death by transforming him into one of us, but being fourteen for the rest of your life is no gift. By the late 1880’s the boy was no longer in his right mind and started turning other young ones into vampires.”

  “What happened next? Who turned him and where did this all happen?”

  “Patience Vic, I am the one telling the story.”

  “Fine, continue on boss lady.”

  “The boy and his pack of underage vampires were cornered in London. Rod led a group into the heart of the city and captured them. It was a bloody affair that almost exposed us to the world. Three humans died that day and another was injured so severely he would have died too. But the boy, who by this time renamed himself Peter Pan and his lost boys were no longer a threat. Rod exiled them to an island off the coast on England and using strong magic, put a barrier up. The boys are stuck there, Foreverland as it was nicknamed, for all eternity.”