She clawed at my arm but my thick coat spared me injury. While pinning her, I rammed the stake through her heart, watching her eyes fully blacken and her body grow limp before she dissolved into a pile of ash beneath me.
One of the male vampires screamed in anger. I glanced up. This vampire leapt high into the air and far outside of Jacques’ reach, landing on the floor in front of me. I pushed myself up and backwards but not fast enough. He flailed his sharp nails across my face. The burning pain was instant. Warm blood dripped down my left cheek. I winced and turned with his momentum, following his swing through.
For a young vampire he was fast. Had he been older, I’d have suffered far worse an injury from his attack than simply getting raked across the face. Due to how hard he had swung, he continued moving forward. I grabbed his elbow and continued with him, slamming him face first into the wall. Upon impact, I pressed my thick hand against the back of his neck and held him a foot off the floor.
His legs dangled. He kicked and snarled, trying to break free of my fierce grip, but from the angle I held him, he found no leverage. He was thin, light, and absent of any humanity. He managed to turn his head back enough to see me. He frothed at the mouth like a wild animal. His eyes revealed his hatred for humanity and how much he wanted to kill me, but unless I let him go, he remained harmless.
From behind him, I positioned the stake over his heart and thrust it through his back. He stiffened for a moment before dissolving into ash.
Jacques rushed one vampire, and Matilda attacked the other one. They used their werewolf claws and slashed the vampires’ necks back and forth until they decapitated them.
I scanned the room thoroughly before dropping the stake back into my coat pocket. I wiped bright blood from my cheek. I took a cloth from my pocket and pressed it against the lacerations.
Slowly, Jacques and Matilda reverted into their human forms. They sat on thick rock slabs that had once served as overhead beams before part of the ceiling had collapsed. Leaning against one another, they took deep breaths. Sweat covered them. Their eyes revealed how exhausted they were. They needed long naps to recuperate, but we couldn’t stay here. This place was still too dangerous.
“Four less vampires,” I said, squatting beside them.
Jacques nodded.
“Do you think there are more?”
He gasped for air. “If there are, they’re elsewhere.”
Matilda pulled my hand away from the side of my face. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “It’ll heal.”
She smiled and took a small vial from her pocket. She rubbed the ointment across the cuts. It smelled like mint but burned when she spread it on my bloody cheek. “This will help.”
I smiled my appreciation. “We need to get the two of you to the surface before you fall asleep. If the master vampire finds you, he’s certain to kill you in retaliation for his children.”
Jacques pointed. “There’s an old set of stairs. It should lead above ground, provided they’re still intact, but I have no idea where we will emerge.”
“Even as far into the tunnel as we have traveled,” I said, “I don’t think we’re even close to Albert’s lair.”
Matilda shook her head. “We’re probably nowhere near.”
I stood over them. Matilda readjusted and buttoned her blouse to cover herself. I extended my hands and helped them both to their feet.
At the top of the stairs I pushed open a rusted door that opened into an overgrown garden with moss-covered birdbaths, weedy flowerbeds, and tarnished cherub statues. Jacques and Matilda walked to the wide tree trunk of a giant weeping willow and sat down. They fell asleep in one another’s arms within minutes, which meant I had to keep watch over them for at least three hours while they recuperated from undergoing such quick transformations and expending their energy to fight.
Normally, Jacques could alter back to human without sleep, but never after he exerted himself to complete exhaustion fighting.
I had told Father that we weren’t going to be gone too long. Initially, it had not been a lie. But now, it would be a few hours before we returned to find him. He’d be even more agitated than when I had left him. But Jacques and Matilda were too vulnerable to leave unattended. I was certain he’d understand that. He might never admit it, but he’d understand.
I sat on a granite bench half-covered with ivy where I could keep an eye on them and the door we had exited. By the time she and Jacques awakened, darkness would surround us. Should the master discover four of his children were dead, I held no doubt he’d emerge after sundown, seeking us. From how Jacques had described his fights with this master, I didn’t expect to survive a one-on-one battle against him.
A bat fluttered out the cellar door with a harsh shrill, catching my attention. I turned to see the green eyes of a large hairy creature watching me from the shadows on the other side of the shadowed door. My hand went into my pocket. I waited, but I didn’t need to wait long.
Chapter Nineteen
After a few seconds, the creature left the door and walked out where I could see him. It was Albert.
He walked through the dry weeds and grass, which made gentle crunching sounds beneath his feet. His long tail trailed behind him like a large winding snake. Fresh blood was on his sinewy hands and smeared across the front of his robe. His nose scrunched and his whiskers twitched as he sniffed the air. His eyes widened like a child full of new discovery while he examined the trees, the birds, and his surroundings.
He took a deep breath, sighed, and sat on the bench beside me. “It’s been ages since I’ve been outdoors before the sunset.”
I eased my hand out of my pocket. “What brings you out this evening?”
“I needed to finish a task that you and your party failed to carry out.”
I stared at the blood on his hands. “And exactly what did we fail to do?”
“You left one of the vampire’s human herd alive.”
“You killed him?”
Albert nodded. “You should have.”
“He was harmless.”
He shook his head. “Far from harmless, Forrest. He was marked. While he might have appeared fragile and unaware, the vampire controlled him. He could use his eyes to see. Because he controlled this feedbag of blood, he could have used the boy to kill or be a decoy to draw others underground. He might have already.”
“I wasn’t aware.”
Albert shrugged. He glanced toward Matilda and Jacques. “Fine time to take a nap.”
I explained what had happened.
He nodded in the direction of the sleeping couple. “That’s the downside of having to transform. It takes so much out of the human side that one succumbs to sleep so quickly. Since I never undergo any type of metamorphic change, I don’t suffer in that regard. Like I mentioned to you before, perhaps you should consider becoming a were-creature. It has its added benefits.”
I shook my head. “I’m having a hard enough time to adjusting to my Hunter senses and discerning their whispered insight.”
Albert smiled and pointed toward the grass at our feet. “Four young vampires were under the ground where we sit?”
I nodded.
“So a marked human near four vampires. The master’s not far away then.”
“That’d be my guess.”
Albert grinned. His beady rat eyes studied me. “Since it is only you and I at the moment, perhaps we can talk?”
“Sure.”
“Something about your nature betrays you.”
“What do you mean?” I scratched at my thickening beard.
“You’re a giant of a young man but seem overly naïve at times. For me, it seems that you should have far greater knowledge about the world of the undead. But, for some reason you have far more questions than answers. I don’t mean any offense by these statements.”
I shrugged. “None taken.”
“How long have you been a Hunter?”
“Not even a year.”
�
��I see.” His eyes searched mine.
For a were-rat that lacked ever becoming human again, his manners were impeccable and proper. Except for appearing as a giant rat, he could sit at the Queen’s table unnoticed, acting like the best of royalty and nobility. He had been brought up in a wealthy home. I wondered what had happened to alter his life in such a drastic way.
“How old are you, Forrest?”
“Eight.”
He smiled and a deep chuckle rolled in his throat. “You’re a rarity of sorts. It explains so much.”
“Like what?”
“Your childlike innocence. It also explains why you didn’t kill the human feedbag in the underground tunnel.”
“I could not justify killing him since he wasn’t an actual vampire.”
“You’ve never killed anything other than vampires?”
“Ghouls.”
Albert reared his head back and winced. “Oh, how I hate those wretched beasts. Damn near impossible to kill.”
“They are. I’ve killed zombies, too.”
“Who hasn’t?” he asked with a sly grin. My questioning stare caused him to laugh. He turned on the bench and faced me. “At some point, Forrest, you’re going to face humans that are controlled by darker forces, whether it be demons, vampires, or witches. Evil shuns no form. Remember that. You will have to kill something that’s still human. The justification for doing so will be there. On that day, trust me it will come, a part of you will die, too. You’ll feel it. You’ll grieve over its absence, but once it occurs, you’ll never have it again. Ever.”
My mind returned to the day of my mother’s death, and Baron Randolph’s human servant who had killed her. Jacques had spared me from committing the murder, even though it would have been justified. In retrospect, had the opportunity come for me to kill the servant, I’d have done it without hesitation. After all, he had killed my mother.
“I’ve met few Hunters, Forrest,” Albert said softly. “But in all honesty, none are better suited for the task than you.”
“Why do you say that?”
He took a deep breath and sighed. “You’ve mentioned your lack of faith—”
I shook my head. “No. I have faith but not in what these fancy cathedrals or temples around the world mandate.”
Albert raised his hand and shook his head. “Patience. Let me explain. I have met holy men, spiritual women, and those who work miracles. I’ve deliberately sought some of them out. Simply because a person professes he or she is this or that doesn’t make it so.”
“That’s my point.”
“Ah, but when you encounter a person who has been touched by a higher spiritual power, no one has to tell you. It doesn’t need to be proclaimed. It’s evident the moment you come in contact with them. You feel the power oozing off them. That is something I sense with you.”
I frowned.
“Not holy or evil power. I sense that you’re one of the Chosen Hunters. Mysticism gushes through you. You have more power than what you’re even aware of. In time you’ll have better understanding of your gifts.”
“Each day brings something new.”
Albert stood and adjusted his robe. He glanced toward Jacques and Matilda.
“How long do you need to keep watch over them?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It will be dark soon. Where’s your father?”
“We left him near the coffee house.” I shook my head. “I told him that we weren’t planning to be gone long. He’ll be angry.”
“Not to worry, Forrest,” Albert said. “I shall send my boys to find him and let him know of your delay.”
“I appreciate that. Please relay a message?”
“Certainly.”
“Have him wait at the inn for us.”
Albert acquiesced a nod. He took in another deep breath while turning in a circle, admiring the area. “Oh, how I do miss the outdoors. This place is splendid solitude. I shall visit here again. After we have killed that fiendish vampire, that is.”
He took slow strides to the door but never looked back.
After Albert was gone, I studied the vacant building beyond the overgrown garden where I sat. The building was three stories high with shattered windows, part of the roof had collapsed, and slender trees forked up the walls, trying to encapsulate it or to delay its inevitable fall. It was a menacing place from afar, but I imagined even worse after the night came. I wasn’t familiar with this area. Strangely no vagrants loitered, almost as though the land was cursed, and perhaps it was since the only others here had been the four vampires right beneath us.
The building wasn’t an old church. It looked like the workhouses in other areas of the city. From my vantage point I didn’t see any entrances except the door that led to the tunnels below. For all I knew, I was probably at the rear of the building where the owner once had this fine botanical garden so he could relax. But for whatever reason, the place was more dismal than the confined streets of Whitechapel. No one had maintained the building or grounds for years. I wondered why and what had happened to cause the city to disregard what had once been a thriving industry.
I didn’t wish to get my hopes up, but since we had found and killed four young vampires near this building, I suspected we were close to finding the vampire. The biggest obstacle facing us was not knowing our actual locale, but it made sense that this abandoned building might be where the vampire had chosen to reside. We had found one of the humans he was using to feed from and the two brothers had reported family members disappearing. All of this had occurred within a narrow vicinity. The vampire was most likely easier to find near this building than by tracking the murder victims he was leaving on the streets. Those bodies were nothing more than a distraction to strike fear into the hearts of the residents and keep everyone’s attention away from the actual reality.
Unless we hunted down this vampire and killed him soon, he was about to unleash a new infestation of vampires to London. One destined to disrupt its infrastructure to the core. While it might help to know this vampire’s origin, it wasn’t essential information, not if we figured out his stalking pattern.
The vastly overpopulated streets made it impossible to predict where he’d strike next. I wondered if we inspected the lower floors of the workhouse, would we find him? Before the darkness settled, it was possible, but I couldn’t leave Jacques and Matilda defenseless. In the ornery games Fate often played, the moment I left my cousin and his rekindled love to explore the building, the vampire would kill both of them. Never tempt Fate. It was never in one’s favor to attempt to outsmart the dealer who shuffled the cards of life. Experts set the deck when the stakes were at their highest, so the odds were always set against the competitor. All I could do was watch the building, as the sky grew dimmer and wait.
Wind rustled through the weeds and shook the leaves on the vines and trees. Fog billowed from the far side of the building. I eased from the bench and studied the rising mists. They churned in an isolated spot, like a dust devil spun sand and silt upwards, forming a small harmless whirlwind. This mist rose only at that corner of the building and not elsewhere. I didn’t know if it were possible or not, but I hurried to Jacques and Matilda, hoping to awaken them.
I shook Jacques’ shoulder firmly. His eyes opened, narrowed, and he snarled. If I hadn’t known he was a werewolf, his reaction might have been more laughable. It took several seconds to register in his mind that I wasn’t his enemy before he finally relaxed and examined his surroundings.
“What is it?”
“I think I’ve found him.”
“The vampire?”
I nodded.
Jacques stood quickly and followed me to the edge of the overgrown garden. I pointed toward the rising fog at the corner of the building. He watched for several minutes. Daylight fled. Night approached.
“What is it?” Matilda asked, standing beside me.
I stiffened. I had never heard her advance.
“He thinks it’s where the
vampire has been hiding,” Jacques said softly. “He may be right.”
She watched for several moments and nodded. “Something not human is definitely there. I sense evil pulsing from him.”
“He has awakened,” Jacques whispered.
Dozens of birds billowed toward the side of the roof. At first glance they appeared to be bats. Their piercing shrills brought chills down my back. The swarm swirled around the rooftop almost blackening what little light remained overhead. Thousands of them cried and flittered, eating whatever mosquitoes and flies they happened upon. They carried on for about fifteen more minutes. With calculated accuracy, they flew upward and descended, flying down inside the old chimney and into the top floor of the building to roost. Their wild chirps and shrills slowly settled.
After their sound died down, a thunderous explosion of flapping wings broke the silence behind us. We turned to see hundreds of large brown bats exiting through the slightly open door that led to the cellar and underground tunnel. It was a massive cloud of sharp teeth and leathery wings heading directly at us. We dove near a low tree branch.
Although bats never attacked humans, it was dangerous to stand in their flight path when they left the roost. They moved so rapidly and in such vast numbers, one could never avoid the claws or sharp teeth if they stood in their way. Once the bats lofted into the night sky, we looked toward the building. The misty fog was gone. I immediately wondered where our enemy had gone and where he might suddenly reappear.
Chapter Twenty
“Since it’s dark, we should find a way out of here besides the underground tunnel,” I said.
Jacques returned his attention to the side of the building. “He’s gone, isn’t he?”
“I think so. And for all we know, he might already be in the cellar where we killed his children, if he entered through another passageway.”
Forrest Wollinsky: Vampire Hunter [Book 2]: Blood Mists of London Page 12
