“Speak of the devil,” the girl said, watching the men move through the room. “He’s the one in front.” She didn’t need to tell Danner who the man was, he had felt the vamp’s auras even before they had entered the bar. The air was heavy, the 12 vampires in the establishment feeling the almost electric charge in the atmosphere.
The waitress moved off to another table, leaving Danner to stare at his sire, a man he hadn’t seen for over two hundred years.
Beryl Wilson was tall and thin, a good looking man. Danner knew Wilson had a penchant for young males. The three vampires surrounding him all fit the mode. They were all late teens or early twenties, each one handsome although possessing a noticeable softness to their carriage. Danner wasn’t fooled though. He knew many vamps preferred gay or bi sex, but the sexual inclination didn’t in any manner weaken them.
Wilson approached the table, looking first at Riley, dismissing him as though he were invisible. His eyes focused on Danner, his mind probing his child, trying to get a hold of the younger vampire. Finally, realizing Danner was much stronger mentally than he had surmised, he smiled with his mouth, his eyes as hard as granite.
“My name is Wilson. Who are you?” he asked, Danner taken aback the man didn’t know one of his own.
Riley was on high alert, not sure what to expect; only something was certainly out of kilter, the look on Danner’s face one of shock.
“I’m Danner Gray. Is there something I can do for you…or are you just being friendly?”
Wilson hesitated, realizing he had been one-upped. By the angry look on his face, it was obvious he didn’t like it.
“You’ll forgive me, Mr. Gray, but somewhere along the line I have lost track of many members of my flock,” Wilson answered. “Danner? Of course, I’m so glad to see you again, Danner. Thank you for answering my call. It truly is important you are here. We have a little problem, and I put out a plea for all of my children.”
He’s charming, Danner thought. Charming and full of shit. He doesn’t have a little problem, he looks nervous as hell, scared even.
“I’m hoping whatever it is you need from me can be quick. My friends and I are expected somewhere in a couple of days, and we don’t want to be late. Would you care to explain this little shout out of yours?”
The vampire on Beryl’s right moved a step closer to Danner, a menacing look on his face, his body language intimidating. He was bigger than Wilson, maybe six foot three, 200 pounds. A blond with longish hair; anger contorting his handsome face.
“I suggest you show my sire the respect he deserves,” the blonde hissed.
Danner felt the danger in the air, both from Wilson’s boy as well as from Riley.
“Wilson, I suggest you get this child under control,” Danner said evenly, his voice low. “We are not looking for a confrontation. We have traveled several thousand miles to find whatever it is you called me for, but if you or your minions think for one minute we will kowtow to anyone, including you…you are sadly mistaken. If you have something to speak to me about, then I suggest we go somewhere and talk. But if I feel the least bit threatened, the talk will cease, and we will be on our way. This is the courtesy I show. Try to understand; respect in my world is earned.”
“I am your sire, Danner Gray, reason enough to respect me,” the man said in the same low voice.
“Sorry, but robbing me of my humanity, turning me, abusing me with your perversions.and throwing me on the street to fend for myself two months into my life…is no foundation for respect. True story, Wilson, I feel contempt for you, and all vampires that use their power for personal gratification. I think it’s time for us to go. This was a mistake.”
Danner stood, followed by Riley, the seven vampires staring at each other, the rest of the bar patrons unaware they were sitting ringside for a possible death battle.
In the back of the room, the other table of vampires were listening to the conversation with their exceptional hearing. As Danner and Riley stood, Amp pushed back from the table and stood, ready to throw herself into the fray if anyone moved. She noticed not one of the other five made any move of support.
“Danner, I apologize for this lack of communication. I would very much like you and your friend to be my guest, at least for the night. I guarantee your safety at my home, and we will be able to talk about my problems. Tomorrow you will be able to rest, again under my guarantee of safety. Then if it is your desire, you can leave on the next ferry. But I beg you, hear me out tonight.”
His mind working on all the angles, Danner’s chief concern was whether he could trust the older vampire. Wilson had given his guarantee, and in the vampire community, this was a solemn oath. Danner had never heard of a vampire who had broken a guarantee of safety. In the end, his curiosity convinced him to go.
“Fine, we accept your hospitality…and your guarantee of our safety.” Looking at his two friends, he noticed Amp had a tiny smile on her face, while Riley had his shit-kicker expression. They were both ready for action, and Danner knew they would welcome a good fight.
“Thank you, Danner. Do you have a vehicle, or will you be riding with us?”
“We’ll follow you,” Danner answered, waiting for Wilson to lead the way out the door.
“That’s my cue,” Amp said, smiling at her new friends. “Hope I see you guys again.”
The vampire Will, who had not spoken yet, looked seriously at Amp before she walked away. “Don’t turn your back on those people,” he said softly. “They’re pretty extreme…we stay away from them. Guys are almost militant or something.”
“Yeah,” Doc continued. “A house full of fags…reminds me of inbreds. We do everything we can to steer away from them. Just don’t trust anything they say, little girl.”
“Thanks, guys. We’ll be careful. This should be short and sweet.”
Once inside their car, Danner turned and faced Riley and Amp. “Guy is a little radical,” he chuckled.
“That was just weird,” Amp replied. “Those guys are as strange as anyone I’ve ever seen. Did the little sissy with him think he was scaring anyone?”
------
Beryl Wilson was more than 400 years old, and the vampire lord hadn’t survived four centuries without a multitude of plans and counter plans to control any eventuality. He had lived his vampire life concerned with two priorities…power and self gratification.
The Wilson clan had been living in the Alaskan region for more than a hundred years, mainly because the overcast skies provided a comfort to the sensitive skin of vampires. There was also the fact Wilson had been running from the vampire establishment, and Alaska was a compromise. He was out of the way from the mainstream of vampire existence. Wilson was an outcast, as low on the vampire chain as one could get. He was not recognized as anything but scum, a parasite. For hundreds of years, Wilson had been creating vampires as sport, turning people for his personal enjoyment, and when he was finished, throwing them away to fend for themselves. This practice went against every edict of vampire diktat.
By locating to a desolate area in Alaska, Wilson had proved the adage: out of sight, out of mind. He had kept a low profile, at the same time continuing his unethical practices. But for the past 50 years, Wilson’s paranoia was well founded. He knew someday an established and powerful vampire clan would come after him, and his entire resources and focus has been to build up his defenses. Surrounding himself with the children who were loyal to him was not enough. Wilson knew he needed an army.
Wilson’s home was situated far off the road, not noticeable to the sparse traffic. The expansive estate was at the same time tasteful and extravagant, a far cry from the apartments and cheap motels Danner’s trio was accustomed to. As they entered the front doors, they were met by Wilson, several of his overzealous boy toys, and a beautiful woman.
“Welcome to my home,” Wilson said, stepping aside to allow the trio to enter. They stood in an entryway, the floor gray marble, the walls velvet tapestry, giving the impression of old world g
enteelness. “May I introduce my life companion, Miriam? My dear, this is Danner Gray, and his two friends…”
“ Anne Marie and Riley,” Danner finished, not wishing to embarrass anyone, knowing the older vampire had not caught his friend’s names in the bar.
“We are so glad you have come to stay with us,” the woman said.
Tall and very pale skinned, Miriam had shoulder length blonde hair, parted in the middle. Her makeup was perfect, as was her deep purple dress. She is beautiful, Danner thought, at the same time wondering why a man like Wilson had a female companion. She’s not vampire, he realized, but the rest would have to wait for later. The entourage moved into a larger, beautiful living area, Wilson showing his guests where to sit. He turned and spoke directly to Danner.
“Might I get anyone a drink?” he asked politely.
The three guests shook their heads, each curious to what was coming from this unlikable man.
“I have been here in Alaska for many years, Danner, and we…my clan and I, have built a comfortable life, away from the hectic pace of the lower 48. Thanks to some extremely talented computer operators, and a brilliant financial advisor, we do well in Petersburg. We leave the local population alone. When we hunt we go either farther north in the state, or we travel to Seattle or Vancouver.”
As he said this, he nodded toward Miriam, who smiled back at the acknowledgement.
“After all of this time keeping to ourselves, staying out of vampire affairs and politics, we find ourselves threatened by a clan from the south. If the rumors and reports from my friends are correct, my little empire here is ripe for a takeover, which as we all know, leaves nothing for the loser…including their lives. This is the reason I sent out a telepathic message to all of my children, and why you find yourself sitting here in my home. I need your help to sustain what is mine.”
Danner’s face looked as though it were carved in stone. His dark eyes were the only indication of his anger. Amp and Riley knew he was pissed. They kept their mouths shut but were alert for trouble.
“Let me get this right, Wilson. Your little empire is going to get sacked, you’re going to lose your head, along with the rest of these…whatever you call them, your crew, and you called me to help you? This after the way you turned me, abused me, and then pitched me out like a sack of trash? You want me to fight for your miserable life?”
The silence was deafening, the air thick with menace, every vamp in the room prepared to do violence. Danner and Wilson stared at each other, neither willing to break the contact.
“Danner, let me try to help you understand.”
It was the woman Miriam who finally broke the spell, Danner turning his angry eyes away from Wilson and looking at the human.
“The problem we are anticipating, what Beryl thinks is going to happen, is the chance we are going to come under attack because we are out of the way, quiet and law abiding. Danner, Beryl gave you a great gift, gave you eternity. Don’t you see, we are going to lose everything we have worked for, and all Beryl asks is your support. He needs you, Danner. What a marvelous way for you to repay his generous gift of your life. Do you understand?”
Riley looked at Amp, rolling his eyes, knowing the human had hit on a very sore subject with his friend. She could not have known her argument for Danner’s help could not have been more poorly scripted.
Finally, Danner answered, looking at Wilson as he spoke. “If you are attacked by another clan, it is because you are weak. Allowing this woman, this human, to speak for you, to argue on your behalf, proves you are weaker than I could ever have imagined. You have guaranteed our safety, and I expect the guarantee to be adhered to. We will pass on your offer of lodging and be on our way.”
Without another word, Danner, Riley and Amp stood. They knew there would be no action against them. A vampire’s word of safety was his strongest bond, and they had no doubt Wilson would abide by his word. Silently the three filed out of the room, moved to the front door, and out of the house.
------
Danner was the first to die, the attack so unexpected Riley and Amp just stared as their sire’s head was severed by a violent strike from a sword, the blonde from the bar grinning evilly, his fangs fully elongated. Danner’s lifeblood spurted in several directions, escaping from the hole where his head had rested, his torso hitting the ground, quivering, and then lying still, his head rolling several feet away, the open, lifeless eyes staring at nothing.
“I told you to show my sire the respect he deserves,” the blonde snarled, his blade whipping out towards the remaining two.
Amp stood stunned, her mind awash in a millisecond recollection of the past 100 years. She felt as though she couldn’t breathe, staring at the headless carcass; her sire, her mentor, her greatest friend. After what seemed like hours, but was only scant seconds, she snapped out of her shock, her entire focus on raining death upon these savages.
Riley has been much faster, dodging left, and then striking from the side, the blonde flying against a tree, the air leaving his lungs, down but not out. Another pair of Wilson’s warriors dropped from the roof, each wielding a similar sword, their intentions clear. There would be no mercy shown this night; it was a fight to the death.
Amp and Riley stood back-to-back, preparing for the fight of their lives. Riley went after the closest vamp, dodging the strike from the sword and knocking him down, twisting the man’s head until his neck broke, grabbing the sword off the ground and easily taking the head of the second attacker. Amp had grabbed the sword the blonde had used to take Riley’s head, and she swung it at the third vamp, slicing first into his shoulder, then bringing it straight down and splitting the vamps skull.
The girl had never handled a sword before, but surprisingly she felt as if the weapon was an extension of her arm. She was swinging it, if not gracefully, lethally. In her mind, she knew she was going to die; her entire focus was taking as many of the enemy with her as possible. Turning, she saw six more of Wilson’s crew circle Riley, who had already defeated five warriors. He was moving in and out of the crowd at an incredible rate of speed, and the blood was spraying in all directions.
It’s like a dream, Amp thought. Her worst nightmare and she was in the middle of it, fighting desperately for her life. At least I’m going to die with my best friend, she thought, mesmerized by the killer mentality overtaking Riley.
Amp dove right into the middle of the action, her sword making short work of the first two vamps she reached. These are not good fighters; she thought as she took the second vamp’s head. We just might be able to fight our way out of this. We’re inflicting a shitload of casualties.
Just as she reached Riley, she heard a roar; at the same time Riley was blasted off of his feet. Looking up, Amp saw two of Wilson’s soldiers holding shotguns, and there was a faint wisp of smoke from the barrel of both weapons.
Kneeling next to her best friend, Amp cradled Riley’s head, waiting for the next explosion to take her. The detonation had hit him in the upper chest, skin and bone visible, Amp certain it was a mortal injury.
The vamps were using human weapons, a reprehensible act of cowardness in the vampire world. Riley was trying to speak, Amp leaning forward to hear.
“When I sit up, you run straight at the fence, they won’t be expecting it. You get your ass out of here right now, Amp…”
“I stay,” Amp stated, determined to die with Riley.
“You listen to me, Amp. You run, and then you get the hell off this island, as far away from here as you can. When I sit, you run.”
Riley struggled up, blood pouring from several different wounds. The shotgun had knocked him down, but not out. His left arm and lower abdomen were riddled, as well as his upper left thigh. Suddenly he stood, his sword held in his right hand at the ready.
Wilson’s vamps stepped back, and then Amp was gone, streaking across the lawn, one huge leap clearing the spiked fence, and she was in the woods.
“Catch her!” Wilson cried, but his attent
ion was on Riley, Amp but an afterthought.
Amp was fast. She had always possessed great speed even for a vampire. She streaked through the woods, faster than the eye could follow, putting miles between herself and the pursuers who were scouring the woods for any sign of her.
Amp didn’t stop until she was across the island, near the docks. Using her senses, she approached a 55 foot fishing vessel she thought was empty, stepping onto the deck and trying the hatch leading below deck. It was locked. With her superior strength she twisted the lock, snapping it. She crept down the steps, finding a place to hide, a place to plan.
------
Amp waited two days before she ventured above deck. She could wait no longer, needing desperately to feed. It was after midnight when she stepped out onto the wharf, the girl moving silently, waiting for Wilson’s warriors to attack, trying to sense any humans in the area, food having taken the priority. If she could eat, she would have enough strength to hunt.
Walking cautiously down the wharf, she heard a voice in the distance, then somebody jumping down from the deck of a boat. Moving closer, Amp saw a woman waving back towards the boat, a nice pleasure craft about 40 feet long, a cabin cruiser. A man stood on the deck, a drink in his hand, a smile on his face. “I’ll ring you next time I’m up this way,” he called to the woman.
He didn’t notice Amp until she was standing next to him, her stealth added to the man’s apparent intoxication making it easy for the girl.
“Oh hell, you scared the shit out of me,” the man gasped, looking at the skinny vamp. “Where the hell did you come from?”
Amp had no desire to play games or to waste time. She stared directly into the man’s eyes, taking full control of his mind. “Are you the owner of this boat?” she asked.
“Yes sir, me and the bank, but mostly me,” he answered, a slight glaze taking over his eyes. “Who might you be?”
“Where are you going when you leave this town?” Amp continued, ignoring the man’s question. “Are you alone?”
Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) Page 3
