by Ilana Waters
“Be careful, George!” Abigail said as she and Arthur waved good-bye.
“Vile words, my lady!” George called cheerfully, waving back as the elevator doors closed.
Chapter 10
Fortunately, George returned from his field trip to the distillery unharmed.
“I got the lay of the land while I was there,” he said when we met again at the Hassler. “Didn’t find any alarms or booby traps, though. Or hellhounds.”
“What about the vampires?” I asked. “Did you manage to destroy them?”
“That’s the funny thing.” George scratched his chin. “I didn’t find any vampires either.”
“What do you mean?” Arthur asked.
“I mean I searched as much of the property as I could, but those loons who gassed you were nowhere to be found.”
“Did you at least find Titus?” Abigail asked, wringing her hands.
“I tried, but the sun was setting,” George explained. “I didn’t want to risk being caught alone with three vampires in case they were there, but hiding. Only because I promised you I wouldn’t.”
“So we have no choice,” I said. “We have to gather our weapons and go together.”
“What if they’ve already run off somewhere with Titus?” Abigail asked. “What if they already . . . that is . . .” Her voice cracked.
“Impossible,” George said firmly. “Remember, we saw them in the mirror just as they were about to bed down this morning. There’s nowhere else they could have gone before the sun rose. But it’s well and truly dark now, so if we want to catch them at the distillery, I suggest we get there quickly.”
***
“From what I could see,” George explained from the bed of the pickup truck, “the main room in front is where most of the distilling was done.” He hung onto the truck’s back window frame as the whole mess rattled down the highway. “I think we should try to draw the vampires there, if possible. You said the room you saw Titus in was small and dark. If that’s the case, it’s likely he’s being held in an old office or storage room, which are in the back.” He pointed to my mother through the open window. “Abigail, after we three draw the vampires out, I think you should go find Titus and bring him to where we are.”
“Won’t that put him in harm’s way?” asked Arthur, who was driving. I had offered, but for some reason, he insisted. “I mean, if it comes to a fracas between us and the vampires?”
I stopped looking out the passenger window and shook my head. “It’s safer if we’re all in one place. If the vampires separate us, or we get separated, we won’t be able to defend one another.”
“I must say, boys,” remarked Abigail, who was sitting in the middle, “Titus would certainly admire the way you’re planning all this like military commanders.”
I managed a weak smile at George. “We’ll see how he feels if we’re successful.”
“When we’re successful,” Abigail said, with a sharp turn of her head.
“That’s what he meant,” said George.
“Do you think you’ll be able to bring Aurelius to us if you find him?” Arthur asked my mother. “I mean, he weighs . . . and you weigh . . .”
“Arthur, sweetie,” said Abigail, “I could magic this car up off the ground if I had a mind to. Really, you need to have more faith in my abilities.”
“Jolly good then,” said Arthur.
“You sure you’re all right back there, George?” I asked.
“Oh absolutely,” he replied. “The weather’s positively balmy. A fine night for a rescue, don’t you think?” If only I shared his confidence.
All too soon we were parked outside the distillery, everyone but Abigail loading duffel bags onto their backs. And I hope you don’t think they included items such as garlic, holy water, or crucifixes. My friend, if you ever face a vampire with only those items, you are going to be very disappointed indeed. And very dead.
Our feet crunched over the gravel as we made our way towards the entrance. The sound seemed so loud against the silence of the night. We all looked at one another as we stood at the large double doors, and I had an eerie sense of déjà vu. It was almost like when my parents and I were standing in the field about to venture down to Ferox’s lair.
“Well, c’mon boys,” Abigail finally said. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go get that fool husband of mine.”
We walked in slowly, cautiously, our footsteps echoing on the cement floor of the vast room. It smelled of dust, plaster, and very faintly of whiskey.
“It’s so dark!” said Arthur.
“Well, vampires can see much better in darkness than we can,” George reminded him.
“Riiight,” Arthur said, not altogether pleased. I swished around the air in the room, trying to feel if it parted for anything resembling a vampire. It did not. Abigail used her earth magic to check for heartbeats (yes, vampires still have those), but there were none except ours. Or at least none close enough for us to hear.
“I could always set a fire to see if anything runs screaming,” George offered.
“Not necessary, George,” I said. “They aren’t here. But you have a point: we do still need to see.”
“Won’t any manner of light alert the vampires to our presence?” Arthur asked.
“Yes, but that has to happen sometime,” George said. “And what better way to draw them out, which is what we wanted in the first place?”
As reluctant as I was to start this whole ordeal, George was right. He, Abigail, and I sent three magic lights to the ceiling and kept them there.
“Maybe the vampires really did leave,” Arthur said.
“No,” Abigail said, shaking her head. “Those little bastards are here. I can feel it.”
Not knowing how long we had till the vampires realized they had guests, we quickly surveyed the scene. There was nothing unexpected. The room was littered with broken or discarded supplies: packing tape, tarps, and various pieces of metal. There were rows of huge steel drums with enormous pipes coming out of them, reaching almost to the ceiling. Smaller pipes went from the larger ones through the walls, presumably to other rooms in the distillery. Seeing something so large and mechanical did make one feel rather tiny in comparison.
George went around the room and tapped the drums, then shook his head. “Empty.”
“What did you expect, George?” I asked. “The place is abandoned, remember? Or did you just come here for free drinks?”
“Any whiskey not stored properly would have evaporated anyway,” said Arthur.
Above us, I glimpsed steel steps leading to walkways that snaked around the room. We couldn’t see any vampires there, and most of the entrances and exits were on the ground floor. But there was one door overhead where two walkways met; any vampire who came through it would run right into us. And we’d be ready.
“We should climb up there,” I said, pointing. “We’ll be able to see the vampires come in—gain a ‘tactical advantage,’ as my father the general would say.”
“Good idea,” said Abigail. “Really, Joshua, I do think he’d be impressed.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly. “When you see him, tell him my next plan is to invade a small country. Got your locating spell ready, Mom?”
“You bet.” She rubbed the stone on her ring, which began to glow faintly. “He’s close,” she whispered. “In addition to casting locator spells, it glows when the desired one is near.”
“And that door,” George indicated the one above us in the corner of the room, “probably leads to the former manager’s office. He or she would likely be located high above in order to get a bird’s-eye view of the daily operations. It’s also a perfect place for janitorial supply closets to keep smaller items. Things that wouldn’t need to be kept on the ground floor the way heavy equipment would.”
“Or kidnapped vampires,” I said. “So Titus is probably somewhere just beyond that door. Let’s grab a few weapons and—”
“Joshua, look out!” cried Arthur.
>
I turned to see a large pipe spinning toward my head. Abigail and Arthur ducked behind the metal drum closest to the wall. The pipe only missed my head because George pushed me back there as well. It hit the wall so hard it got lodged in the concrete. Then the laughing started.
“Well, look who showed up!” Rattler exclaimed. His cheeks had the warm flush of blood about them, and his eyes were bright with malice. His companions, Merula and the taller male, had a similar appearance. Their sadistic giggles echoed off the metal drums, a ringing that chilled one’s blood.
“Wonderful,” I gasped, still trying to recover from my near-beheading. “They’ve fed recently. Vampires at the height of their powers. Just what we need.”
George leaned his head out just beyond the drum. Another pipe whizzed past his eye, leaving a nasty gash on his upper cheek. Only a split-second retreat prevented him from being blinded. He and I looked at one another.
“So much for a tactical advantage,” he said. He wiped away the blood on his face with his shirtsleeve and winced.
“We were wondering when you’d get here,” Rattler continued, walking with his companions from drum to drum. They went slowly, as if purposely tormenting us. Merula was wearing a dress that was even tighter than her last one, which I wouldn’t have believed possible. Rattler took off his cap and polished the rim with his sleeve. The third vampire just walked behind them, smiling.
“Took you look enough,” agreed Merula, winding her fingers around a long gold chain that dangled almost to her waist. “But here you are,” she pouted her over-rouged lips, “to rescue dear old Daddy.”
“Was it a trap the whole time?” I wondered aloud.
“Little difference it makes now,” said Arthur.
“So where the hell were they earlier today when I was here?” asked George.
“You were here before?” Rattler asked. George hadn’t even raised his voice, but almost nothing gets past a vampire’s keen hearing. “We slept in the basement,” said Rattler. “It’s got a secret entrance and everything. Very convenient. Seems the previous owner was running some kind of illegal operation out of here years ago.”
“Damn,” said George. “I didn’t get a chance to check the basement either.”
“Do you think we’re stupid enough to sleep aboveground with you all looking for us?” asked Merula.
“Oh, I would never underestimate your stupidity,” I called to her. Abigail gave me a stern look.
“Enough of this,” she mouthed. “I’m going to find Titus.”
“What?” the rest of us said in unison.
Abigail pushed her hands down, meaning we should lower our voices. “You said he could probably be found through that door, right?” she mouthed again, pointing to the one above us.
“Yes, but—” I started.
“Then that’s where I’m going,” she said firmly. “You all better start rooting through your goody bags.”
Realizing she was serious, we opened our duffels and began rifling around frantically for weapons. The vampires were about a third of the way across the room; we could hear their footsteps drawing nearer and nearer. The click-click of Merula’s heels was especially disturbing.
“Are you sure you don’t want one of us to go with you?” I whispered.
Abigail shook her head. “You’re all needed here. And since the vampires are also here, there’s no chance I’ll run into them after I leave. Whatever you do, just keep them in the room long enough for me to get your father. Okay, boys, cover me!” And before we could stop her, Abigail started running for the stairs.
Chapter 11
No sooner had Rattler spotted Abigail making a dash for the door above than he rose up and flew at her, fangs bared. With speed that came from decades of practice, I brought up a bow and arrow from my duffel bag and pulled back the string. George stared hard at the arrow and blinked, and it burst into flame. I let it fly, hitting Rattler in the hand. He howled and fell to the floor, clutching his wrist.
Arthur practically jumped back when he saw the arrow light up. “Sorry,” George said in a voice that sounded like he wasn’t. “Should’ve warned you.”
“I didn’t even know you could shoot,” Arthur said, now looking at me in awe.
“Arthur, if I couldn’t shoot a simple flaming arrow, my father would have done away with me years ago.” And I was aiming for his eye.
Merula and the other vampire rushed over to Rattler, tore off his coat, and smothered the flame with it. I dared a glance above us, relieved to see Abigail safely escaping out the door. I shot several more arrows at the vampires, but they ducked behind one of the drums, and the arrows ricocheted off empty metal.
This never happened during target practice. I wished vampires wouldn’t move so damn fast.
George grinned. “Guess they realized they weren’t the only immortals here with murdering capabilities.”
The screams that came next were presumably Rattler’s as his companions ripped the arrow from his hand. They flung it, broken and bloody, to one side.
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE DEMON!” Rattler roared.
“Oh, good,” I called back. “I was wondering when we were going to get started.”
Suddenly a large door on the opposite end of the room opened, and two male vampires walked in. My eyes widened when I recognized them as more of Ferox’s minions.
To my surprise, Arthur’s reaction was quicker than mine. He grabbed a crossbow from his duffle bag, loaded it, and aimed the bolt.
“A little help here, George!” he cried. Within seconds, the bolt was aflame, and he fired at one of the two vampires.
“Cronus, Grendel—get down!” Merula yelled. Her warning caused Arthur’s targets to leap behind one of the drums, seconds before the bolt reached them.
“Dammit!” Arthur dropped the bow and rubbed his fingers. Abigail’s magic hadn’t been enough to completely heal them after they were broken by Ferox’s previous minions. “It’s my fault. I’m more used to the crossbow I lost underground than this one, though it is my second favorite.”
“It’s not your fault, Arthur,” I said, not daring to take my eyes off the drums in front of us. “Wait, why is your second-favorite crossbow in Rome? Why do you even have a second fav—never mind.”
“How did two more of them get here so fast?” asked George. He was also trying to get a good view of the vampires, but of course, the drums were in the way.
“Blast!” I brought one fist down on my thigh. “They didn’t come from Ferox’s tonight. They must have been here all along. They just weren’t part of the kidnapping.” This complicated matters. Now we were really and truly outnumbered.
A horrible thought occurred to me. “Lads, what if there are more than five? What if Abigail runs into others while she’s searching for Titus?” We all grew pale as we looked at one another.
“No.” George shook his head sharply. “We can’t think about that. We kill them as quickly as possible, then go and find her. Joshua, what the hell are you doing?”
I was working to draw oxygen away from the fire started by the flaming bolt. It had caught onto some old rags in a corner. Fortunately, they weren’t covered in anything flammable, so it was easy to convince the oxygen around the fire to leave. I’d had to do something similar when a different group of vampires set Titus on fire. But I’m sure you remember that.
“Why’d you put it out?” George asked in disbelief. “Let it kill them!”
“And our lot?” I said. “George, Abigail still hasn’t found Titus. We’re no closer to getting out of here than when we came in. If the whole building burns down, it’ll take the vampires and us, unless you think you can control a fire that size.” I hit him in the arm with the back of my hand. “Good God, man, use your head!”
George frowned at me, but didn’t argue further. One of the male vampires peeked out from behind the drum. George set one of my arrows alight and I fired, but the vampire ducked just in time. Arthur stepped out long enough
to fire his crossbow, but one of the vampires tore off a section of the drum and flung it at him. Only the fact that he shielded himself with the crossbow prevented his head from being sliced off. Unfortunately, it also knocked the bow into his face, leaving him with the beginnings of a black eye.
Arthur leaned with his back against the drum, freely perspiring and trying to catch his breath. “It’s no good,” he gasped, holding his palm against the injured eye. “Every time they slip out from behind the drums to take a shot, they’re vulnerable. Unfortunately, the same holds true for us.”
“I have something that might work.” George began pulling an item out of his duffel bag.
“Not yet!” I hissed.
George took his hand off the bag. “Sure, you have all the fun. I’ll just sit here and look beautiful.”
“You little cowards can’t hide forever!” Merula called.
“Neither can you,” I shot back.
“Very well. Let’s play then, shall we?” With supernatural speed, she came straight towards our drum. Acting purely on instinct, I threw my arm out, and the air around her flung her to the walkway on our left.
Unfortunately, the left side of my body was now exposed, a fact that did not go unnoticed by her companions. They started racing toward me, only to leap behind another drum when George took up my bow—and Arthur his—to shoot flaming arrows at them. I’d leapt straight up in order to avoid the vampire attack I thought was imminent, which meant I was now alone on the walkway with Merula.
She looked at me, and then at the doorway Abigail disappeared into. She grinned wickedly and ran down the walkway in a blur of color. I started running too, but there was no way I was going to get there before her. I sent another shot of air, blowing her back, then stood between her and the door. My forearms ached from using so much magic so fast.
And Merula was prepared this time. Instead of letting the air fling her limbs this way and that, she curled up in a ball and after several turns landed on her feet. She even managed to keep her heels on.
