Sunset Strip: from the Tome of Bill Series

by Rick Gualtieri

  “Uh huh. So since I’m doomed and all, mind filling me in on a few details? Like where the fuck does that girl play into all of this, for example? Seems a bit of a stretch.”

  “As I said earlier, I was surprised too. Thought we might have to try a few times to lure you out here. It’s simple, really. We couldn’t just outright kidnap you. You have far too many eyeballs turned your way for that. Fortunately, I had an ally in a key strategic place. I told Betty...”

  “Firebird, by the way. That’s what she goes by these days.”

  “Jeffrey’s stupid rule?”

  “That’s what I always said.”

  “Whatever she cares to be called, I’d ordered her to take stock of your personal situation. She conducted a little reconnaissance work on those outside of the coven, anyone you were close to. Imagine my surprise when it turned out you had been spending a great deal of time with the Freewill’s human friends.”

  Great! I had no idea my extracurricular jaunts with Bill’s nerd herd were being watched. I’d really need to reconsider my social calendar once this was all over with.

  “Imagine my greater surprise when I learned that you’ve been canoodling with one of them.”

  Oh shit. She knew about Ed, too?

  “Slumming it much, Lucinda?”

  “What? I’m young and single. I play the field.”

  “Playing with your food? I had thought better of you. Regardless, he was my first choice to go after, but I’ve been hearing some disturbing news regarding his...condition.”

  “Leave him alone. He’s been through enough.”

  “I couldn’t care less about that. What he’s been through is nothing compared to what shall come to pass. Nevertheless, I agreed with Mark’s suggestion to expand our search parameters a little...and that’s when we discovered that the other human, the one mated to this witch, had a sister who was nearly of age.”

  “So that way if I didn’t take the bait, you’d at least get a new piece of tail to exploit.”

  She smiled. “Dire straits or not, business must go on. I plan to run this place as always until such time as this city burns around me.”

  “What happens then?”

  “Who knows? It might not even matter much. This is only the first wave. Creatures older than even the First can imagine are stirring in the shadows. What you’ve started is going to tear this world asunder.”

  “So you’ll go down with the ship, at least smug in the satisfaction that you got to take me with you?”

  “I like to think of it more as justice...karma, certainly.” A thoughtful look crossed over her face for a moment. She put one hand on my shoulder. “Even so, your last few hours need not be entirely unpleasant. I am not completely without mercy.”

  She lifted a leg and straddled me in the chair. I had to admit that was unexpected.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Ah Lucinda, so pretty and petite. I’d almost forgotten that you wouldn’t remember those nights from all those years ago.”

  What?! “No, but I always assumed it was because you let visiting vamps use me as a chew toy.”

  “Guilty as charged,” she purred, leaning in closer.

  Torture I could handle, but this was getting a little weird. I’d always strictly preferred sausage on my pizza, if you get my drift. Sure, I’d experimented a bit...

  “The clients got what they paid for. But not all the time. There were a few nights when I indulged myself. A perk of management, if you will.”

  Guess I’d experimented more than even I was aware of.

  “Listen, Marlene, I’m flattered...really, I am. But I’m afraid the mood is kind of off on account of your plans to humiliate me, probably let Mark rape me, and - oh yeah - kill me when this is all over. Don’t take any offense. Those things tend to just turn me off a little.”

  “Have it your way, child. SIT THERE, SHUT UP, AND ENJOY THIS!!”

  Ooh, nice on that last one. You didn’t see that often in a compulsion. I could see how that could be a form of torture in itself. Imagine disemboweling someone slowly, yet ordering them to have an orgasm at the same time. It was pretty fucking diabolical. I’d have to remember that - might come in handy someday.

  Thunder rumbled outside. Marlene stiffened for just a moment as she listened.

  “How fitting,” she said, then pressed her mouth against mine, her tongue darting in and out. Her hands reached up and grasped my shoulders, digging into them ever so slightly with her claws.

  I let out a little moan of pleasure. I was going to enjoy this, but not for the reasons she assumed.

  It was time to stop the play-acting and end this little game.

  I brought the open palm of my hand up and slammed it into the side of her head, most likely shattering her eardrum. She fell to the side with a cry, stunned. As powerful as she was, she hadn’t been expecting me to fight back.

  There was no reason she should have. She’d been smart. She’d had an ally in a strategic location, known my moves in advance, and compelled me to stay in my spot.

  What she hadn’t counted on, though, was that I also had allies in strategic locations. And mine were a little bit better connected than hers.

  Chapter 26

  1995

  “Sally, get your ass in here!”

  Oh, Jesus Christ! What did King Shit want now? Couldn’t have a moment’s peace when that asshole was around.

  “Hey, baby, do you have to go?”

  “Sorry, the boss is calling.” I stood up from the couch and smoothed my dress. The loft was pretty empty tonight. Aside from whatever fuckery was going on in the back room, it was just me, Starlight, and my date. The rest of the coven was either off hunting or doing something else that I probably didn’t give a shit about.

  Ross, or maybe it was Robert - I couldn’t be bothered to remember - stood and put his arms around me. “Come back soon?”

  “Sorry, love, but I think this party is over.”

  “Yeah, but...”

  *CRACK*

  Ah, the sound of a broken spine always made me feel better. I dropped him to the floor and stepped over him.

  “Oh, and just for the record,” I said, turning back to his corpse, “my eyes are up here, asshole.”

  “Seems like a waste of a good meal,” Starlight said playfully, stepping from the kitchen.

  “Feel free. He’s still warm.”

  “Sally!”

  “Coming, master.”

  I couldn’t wait to see what he wanted now. It was usually related to one of two things: sex or him just being too fucking lazy to do something himself. I wasn’t sure which I was beginning to dislike more.

  No, actually that was an easy one. He’d been having me translate a lot of letters from Boston as of late. A roll in the sheets was far more preferable to the crash course in ancient Latin I’d had to give myself. There wasn’t a whole lot out there on it. I’d even tried checking on that new website...Yahoo! or whatever it was called. Waste of time. On the upside, at least I’d learned a few interesting tidbits...which I guess might help me one day if ever there was an undead equivalent of Jeopardy.

  I pushed open the door to the bedroom. As expected, Jeff was lounged naked on the bed. Firebird was there, too, in her natural state...head buried in his lap. Judging by the empty baggies lying about, both were completely fucked up on coke. What a surprise. Jeff hadn’t met a recreational drug he didn’t like.

  Judging by the scene before me, I was about to be asked to join them. Guess I’d be needing a second shower today.

  “Yes, Night Razor? You summoned?”

  “Damn straight I did. I got a job for you.”

  “Looks like Firebird is already taking care of that.”

  Had he been in his right mind, he’d probably have been pissed. Jeff didn’t like anyone talking back to him, even in jest. Just last week, Rage Vector had cracked a joke that Jeff hadn’t liked and gotten his head put through a cinderblock wall for his troubles. It’d been fun to watc
h, and the truth was the dickhead deserved it, but it served as a good reminder to the rest of us.

  Fortunately, Jeff was utterly stoned out of his mind at the moment. He laughed like a jackass at my little joke.

  Firebird, for her part, just raised her head enough to glare daggers at me, but I couldn’t have cared less about that. Despite our shared history, there was no real love lost between us. We’d stuck together those first few months, each using the other as a sort of lifeline to a simpler time. That didn’t last long. As we each grew to accept our fate and our new existence, we rapidly grew apart to the point where familiarity definitely bred contempt.

  “Heh, good one,” Jeff snorted, getting himself under control. “Ozymandias just got into town.”

  It took me a moment to pull up the name. As a customary show of respect, it was expected for outsiders to conform to a coven’s traditions. Unfortunately, one of Jeff’s was a stupid edict for us to cast off our old names and take new ones - mostly of his choosing. I’d been saddled with the brilliant moniker Sally Sunset. Yeah, not one of his better choices. Betty had at least gotten Firebird, which, while not original, wasn’t overly humiliating. With regards to visitors, Jeff tended to pick names arbitrarily in the moment...the expectation being that everyone else should remember it.

  “The prefect from Boston?”

  “The one and the same, babe.”

  That was a bit of a big deal. That guy had over a dozen covens under his personal command. Rumor had it he was old, making even Jeff look like a child in comparison. It was said he personally knew members of the Draculas, our semi-mystical leadership - ancient creatures who none of us, Jeff included, had ever met. Whatever the case, he was powerful. Even Jeff was afraid of him, although he’d never admit it.

  None of that bothered me, though, as much as what it possibly meant.

  “Is Colin here, too?” I asked through gritted teeth. Jeff raised an eyebrow. “I meant, is Armani in town as well?” I held back a snicker at that. It’d been the best Jeff had come up with at the time...obviously based on Colin’s penchant for wearing expensive suits to cover what a slimeball of a shit he was.

  “Nope. Ozymandias is here alone. Wants to meet with me tomorrow to discuss some new bullshit restrictions.”

  “Okay, so what do you need from me?”

  “As I just said, that’s tomorrow. Tonight, I need someone to go and entertain our guest.”

  “Entertain?”

  “Yeah, show him a good time. Give him whatever he desires. Fulfill every sick fucking fantasy he has.”

  Oh shit. Jeff was known for sending out sacrificial lambs if the visitor ranked high enough. I’d been lucky enough to avoid that up til now. Thankfully, unlike the rest of this bunch, I had a brain in my fucking head. I’d gotten tons of crap work dumped on me instead, resulting in me being little more than an undead secretary most days, but at least it kept me from being doled out like a whore.

  “Firebird usually handles the visiting dignitaries,” I pointed out truthfully, if not tactfully. Hell, most of the time she didn’t even need to be compelled to do so. She knew her place in the world and was happy with it. Me, not so much.

  “Firebird is otherwise occupied,” he replied, tone growing cold.

  “What about Starlight?” I hated to throw her under the bus. She was probably the only member of the coven I actually liked. Still, there’s that old saying about better you than me.

  I was pushing my luck with Jeff and knew it. Stoned or not, he was like a spoiled child. The second he didn’t get his way, a tantrum was incoming. Considering his power, that was never a good thing.

  “SHOW OZYMANDIAS A GOOD TIME!! DO WHATEVER HE DESIRES!!”

  His voice whipped through my body and erased my own free will. Hah, that was a good one. Vampires actually had a sort of boogeyman of legend called, ironically enough, a Freewill. I’d first heard it through coven gossip, but had learned a bit more through the correspondence Jeff had me translating - something about a prophecy and the end of the world. Real superstitious bullshit. It was nothing to take seriously, albeit I found myself wishing for the power for which they were named - the ability to resist compulsion. Sadly, it was not to be.

  “Now get the fuck out of here.”

  Jeff didn’t need to add that last part. Even as he spoke, my body turned and headed toward the door. All I could do was grit my teeth and hope this Ozymandias wasn’t the animal his reputation suggested.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  I arrived at the twenty-ninth floor of the Carlyle and headed toward the high-priced suites that Boston kept on reserve. One upside to my time as a vampire was learning that poverty wasn’t going to be an issue. My coven was well-to-do and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Rumor was the vampire nation was awash with money - old money. The current accommodations seemed to reinforce this notion.

  I dreaded what would come next. The front desk told me the room was occupied by one James Ozy, no doubt his play on Jeff’s nickname. The second he opened the door, I knew that the compulsion would take over again. Who knew how much blood would paint the walls of his room before the sun rose in the morning...and how much of it would be mine?

  “One moment, please,” came a deceptively pleasant voice from inside.

  A few seconds later, the door opened. The room's occupant was quite striking: short brown hair, hazel eyes, and a strong chin. He was a few inches shorter than Jeff and not quite as muscular, but still solidly built. He looked me in the eye and smiled pleasantly.

  “Are you Ozymandias?” A lump rose in my throat. If what I’d heard was true, here stood a guy who predated this country.

  He sighed. “I suppose I am, at least when in this city. Please do come in.”

  “Thanks. I’m Sally, from Village Coven.”

  “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Sally.” He held out a hand.

  I reached out and took it, not sure what to expect, but all he did was give it a gentle shake.

  Soft sounds drifted out from the interior and diverted my attention. Cartoonish voices and the occasional outlandish explosion could be heard coming from the bedroom. “Am I interrupting something?”

  He raised a bemused eyebrow. “Oh, not at all. That’s just the television - a bit of a guilty pleasure, if you will. I occasionally use the downtime that coven visits afford as an excuse to catch up on my pop culture.”

  I almost grinned despite myself, then quickly covered it up as I remembered who this was.

  “In any matter, I assume Jeff...sorry, Night Razor. I apologize for my momentary lack of proper protocol.”

  “Oh...no problem,” I replied, amazed to hear that last sentence. If there was one thing Jeff never did, it was say he was sorry for anything.

  “As I was saying, I assume Night Razor sent you to keep me out of trouble for the evening.”

  “Something like that,” I muttered, feeling my eyes lose focus. The edges of the compulsion began to take hold again.

  “Excellent. Then what shall we do to kill the time? Pardon the pun.”

  Almost immediately, my tongue was not my own. “I am here to fulfill whatever you desire.”

  Ozymandias frowned. “Come again?”

  “I am here to fulfill whatever you desire,” I repeated, internally screaming out a cry of rage.

  He let out another sigh and looked me straight in the eye. “I do so hate when coven leaders send their representatives out with such painfully blatant compulsions. No offense meant to your master, but I dare say Night Razor is one of the worst offenders.” He placed his hands on my shoulders. Inwardly I tensed, certain that whatever happened next wouldn’t be pleasant. “I apologize in advance if this hurts. YOU ARE RELEASED FROM YOUR ORDERS!!”

  I staggered in his arms, but he held me up. My god, the power behind his voice - it made Jeff’s commands seem like a whisper in comparison. How old was this guy?

  “What the fuck?” I gasped, realizing a moment too late what had just escaped my lips.
<
br />   “A crude, but apt question,” he replied, a grin once more covering his face. “Let’s test it, shall we? Are you here to fulfill my deepest and most disturbing desires?”

  I opened my mouth, sure Jeff’s commands would come pouring out, but found that they weren’t there. I squealed with delight at the realization. “Don’t take offense to this, but not really.”

  “Excellent!” he replied, dropping his hands from my shoulders.

  “What did you do?”

  “I overrode Night Razor’s commands.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Oh yes, my dear. Compulsion is considerably more complicated than just giving orders and having them carried out no matter the cost. There are many subtleties involved...one such being that a vampire of sufficient strength can cancel out or even insulate one from another’s compulsion.”

  “Really? I don’t suppose you could insulate me from any more of Jeff’s orders.”

  He frowned at that. “You should refer to him as Night Razor. We are in his domain and I am bound by my station to honor his edicts. As you are his charge, you must do likewise. Alas, in answer to your question, I cannot. It would be a violation of my duties to the First Coven. Please don’t take offense. Just know I take my station and responsibilities quite seriously.”

  “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

  “No, I cannot at that,” he replied with a laugh. “Now, how about we begin again? What sights would you care to show me in your fair city?”