- Standing together, two small defenceless figures, trapped in the ally beside the Amato theatre. The young Jake hears his brother’s scream echo in his ears. Before them the Vampire looms, pure evil. Its empty eyes stare into Jake’s, its teeth bared as it prepares to attack. The younger boys’ eyes are squeezed tight shut as he waits for the inevitable end. Jake stands protectively in front of him. A gesture he knows is futile, but despite that, despite the fear that sinks into his every bone, deep into his core and despite legs like jelly desperately wanting nothing more than to buckle, he stands proudly, facing the demon; and somehow manages to stand tall.
Softly, Jake begins to whisper the Lord’s Prayer. His voice cracks and breaks a little due to the fact that his mouth is bone dry.
‘Our... our Father who art in Heaven…’
The creature cocks his head to one side and a lopsided smile of pure insanity crosses its face. Then, without warning, it leaps. Jake tenses, his breath held tight like a vice contracting around his chest as he sees the thing coming at him through the air, almost in slow motion. Although he wants to, he can’t tear his gaze away from those mad, cold, piercing eyes.
Jake jerks back in anticipation of the impact. But it is an impact that doesn’t happen. Instead, with the creature still in mid-air, its hit hard from the side by two figures that arrive out of nowhere. Suddenly all around men spill out of the darkness, shouting and screaming. They pour on top of the vampire, knives, swords, guns and stakes; an assortment of weapons in hand.
It fights like a caged animal, its strength immense. Jake watches as men are torn apart, thrown aside like rag dolls. But, even despite the horror, more and more men charge out of the shadows, like termites swarming over a corpse, until there is a cry, an inhuman cry, one not of this earth. It is a cry that pierces the dark sky before silence once again falls. The beast lays slain.
A young Jake stares in terror as out of the mist a man slowly approaches. The limp he tries to disguise lends him an unusual gait, and as he closes the young Jake stares up at him, up at his saviour. It’s Trent, two decades younger. He stands in front of Jake and Max, his eyes burning brightly and slowly holds out his hand. He smiles as Jake reaches up to take it -
- In the abandoned graveyard Jake’s eyes snapped open. He glanced round, wiping absently at the beads of sweat half frozen to his face. Trying to calm himself, his breath coming in short bursts, he could still feel the strong hand of friendship, offered to him that night by Trent, and instinctively he looked down at his palm as if there should still be some physical mark present.
Jake considered what Trent had done and how he had helped him. He was the man who he had come to love as a father, the man who had saved his life as well as that of his brother all those years before. Then he thought of his real father and an immense feeling of guilt rushed through his body making him feel dizzy. He pushed the thoughts far away, deep down into the recesses of his mind. Tears stung at his eyes, but he refused to cry, instead he focused on his breathing and then, feeling calmer, he slowly stood.
Chapter 6
The City of Life and Death
A city street: full of noise, weak lights and huddled figures, moving, talking. People bustling around in worn, thick woollen coats, their scarves pulled tight across their faces in a vain attempt to keep out the cold. Every so often a figure glides down the street – a vampire. People all around lower their heads as the unearthly beings glide past.
On the corner of West 49th Street down in a basement a dozen men sat round a long, worn and scratched table. They represented the committee of what was known as the Human Support Council. It was a group that Overlord Karick had started in order to try and get the humans onside. Their remit was simple; provide representation for the humans within the ‘sanctuary’, but in return communicate the rules set by the vampires and help maintain compliance. Being part of the group had earned them certain privileges and, as is often the way, its members had begun to start to think of themselves as a cut above the rest of the human race. Now there was a significant debate about how much they actually provided fair representation for the human survivors and how much they actually just did things for themselves.
The air was filled with stale tobacco smoke and rude laughter. At the head of the table sat the man in charge, large and overweight, his name Tom Cooper. As the head of the Human Support Council he reported directly to the vampire Overlord himself. The title given to him by Karick was that of Mayor. Many would say, correctly, but not that loudly and certainly not within ear shot, that being the Mayor of the City was little more than being a puppet or weak figurehead. The people knew that only the vampires held any real power and although Mayor Cooper would never admit as much, he knew it too. However he had quickly come to the conclusion that being the Mayor, even without any real power in governance was better than not being Mayor at all.
It wasn’t that he was delusional in any way, but Mayor Cooper had developed a very thick skin, something he’d had a head start in from a very early age. Now he didn’t worry about the people who thought of him as nothing more than a servant to the vampire Lords. From his perspective it was better to be sitting beneath the thumb of the demons if it meant you were, in turn, able to look down on the rest of humankind.
Mayor Cooper sat back in his chair, the back creaking under his prestigious weight and scanned the room. He was dressed immaculately, flamboyantly even, as he blew a think ring of cigar smoke into the air, taking his time to consider the request that had just been made.
Against the back wall, watching the proceedings with little real interest stood the shadowy figure of a thick set and heavily built man known simply as Jackson. He leant casually up against the door, every now and again shifting his weight slightly in order to remain comfortable. The overweight Mayor leant forward in his chair, which again groaned under his weight and meticulously gathered up the papers in front of him. Then, tapping them on the table to straighten them, he cleared his throat, having seemingly come to his decision.
‘Well, Father Matthew, I have taken your concerns on board.’ He leant forward against the table, his voice now mocking. ‘And please be assured that your views, and the health of those you represent, are of paramount importance to us, thank you. Please feel free to discuss the details with Josiah… if you think it would help.’
The room filled with the sound of stifled laughter as Mayor Cooper looked across to the doorway where the shadowy figure with an immobile face stood.
‘Jackson, would you mind showing Father Matthew out, please?’
Father Matthew stood a little uneasily and shuffled helplessly toward the door. He understood that he was being mocked but knew better than to argue as he also knew that he was risking his life by even being here. Defeated, he hesitated at the door, before addressing the Mayor.
‘Thank you for your time, Mayor Cooper, I'll catch up with Josiah later in the week then.’
‘Yes, yes, you do that now. Bye.’ The last word was spoken by the Mayor with a dismissive wave of his fat hand.
Almost before the door closed behind the Father, the room erupted into roars of laughter. Mayor Cooper waved the noise down.
‘Now, let’s get back to some real business,’ he said sternly as he gathered the papers together and the laughter dissipated. ‘Well let’s see now. We’ve met, or exceeded, all of our targets. The food factories are keeping our friends happy. Despite the weak sunlight we’re producing enough bioethanol to power all the major City generators.’ He blew a perfect smoke ring into the air. ‘We might even get some transport running soon. Yep, I think our friends will be truly pleased.’
There was a general muttering of approval. One of the men to his right leant forward on his powerful arms. He was almost a foot shorter than the Mayor, but much more powerfully built. He had a completely bald head, which seemed to sit atop his broad shoulders because of his almost non-existent, thickset neck. His name was Josiah. When he spoke his voice had a slightly Southern drawl.
Ripples of laughter washed around the table.
‘You know what Josiah?’ replied the Mayor ‘I think you might just be right. See now…’ he looked round the table into each and every face. ‘… The true art of business is finding the right market, regardless of how dire the circumstances might at first appear’.
Josiah chuckled and said with a deadpan face and wry smile ‘And it does help if you don’t give a damn about who, or what, you deal with.’
The room again erupted into laughter.
Calling for order the Mayor then called the meeting to a close. He clambered to his feet. As he watched the others preparing to leave in a melee of self-congratulation, he allowed Jackson to help him into his thick overcoat.
Then, when only Josiah and the bodyguard remained, Cooper turned to them, waving at Jackson to close the door. When he spoke this time his voice was low and hushed,
‘Jackson if you wouldn’t mind? He waited until Jackson had pushed the door fully closed before he continued.
‘Josiah that other bit of business, have you managed to…’ he stopped abruptly as out of the corner of his eye he noticed the door handle begin to turn.
Angrily he shouted out, ‘Hey! This is a private meeting, you’ll get lost if you know what’s good for you.’
As the door began to open, Jackson slammed the door shut hard with his shoulder. Then he grabbed the handle, holding it tight with one massive hand.
‘You heard the boss, now get lost,’ he roared in his uncultured, rough voice.
Thinking that would be an end to that, the Mayor nodded, but as he went to continue the door handle, despite the best endeavours of Jackson, now using both hands, began to turn again.
The Mayor’s face turned to thunder
‘I said...’ he shouted, just as the door flew open, sending the bodyguard flying across the room and into the long table. In its place the huge figure of Voltan filled the doorframe. The cigar dropped from the Mayor’s mouth as the huge vampire entered the room. He was so vast that he had to stoop to clear the doorframe.
The Mayor fought quickly to regain some of his composure.
‘Lord Voltan, I’m so sorry I….’ he muttered in a shaky voice.
‘Mayor Cooper, Overlord Karick wishes to see you’. The vampire spoke with a voice that growled across the room.
‘Of course, of course’ stuttered the Mayor, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I finish here.’
Voltan raised an eyebrow. The Mayor hesitated; replaying the words he’d just spoken in the privacy of his own his mind. Realising what he had said, he swallowed hard and bowed deeply. ‘If...if that is acceptable to my Lord, of course?’
Voltan took a huge breath, the frown not completely gone from his face.
‘One hour, don’t be late.’
He turned and disappeared. As he did, each of the men released the breath they didn’t know they had, up until that point, been holding.
Ten minutes later, outside on Forty Ninth Street, the Mayor strode past the worldwide plaza, flanked by Josiah and Jackson. People spilled out of their way, one man who didn’t was knocked unceremoniously to the ground by Jackson, as together the three continued like a tidal wave down the street.
Mayor Cooper spoke to Josiah, an urgent look on his face.
‘Have you any idea where they are?’
Josiah had to skip a half step to bring himself level with the Mayor.
‘I’ve got my best men on it.’
‘But nothing yet?’
‘We’ll have them soon, don’t worry, Tom’.
The Mayor smiled uncertainly. Clasping his podgy hands together he stopped abruptly and looked straight into Josiah’s eyes.
‘You’d better Josiah. I promised Rodan. If we pull this off we won’t have to take any more crap from Karick and his lapdog, if we don’t….’ He cast a worried glance at Josiah, and then looked hurriedly around, his face a mask of fear. ‘Well let’s just say Rodan’s a real evil bastard that makes Karick look like a lamb.’
He set off again at an even more urgent pace, leaving Josiah once again to half jog in order to keep up. As they crossed a deserted Broadway, Mayor Cooper caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows and realised that there were figures following them. Agitated, he stopped, his arms outstretched. He turned toward the shadows where a brace of yellowish, red eyes stared back.
‘What do you dogs want now? Don’t you know who I am?’ He glanced at his entourage, sniggering. ‘Are you waiting for some scraps or something?’
Then he turned to Jackson and spoke in a loud voice. ‘You know what Jackson? These half human, half vampire scum should be put down, put out of their misery. They’re neither one thing nor the other, nothing but worthless dogs, literally worthless - ’
From out of nowhere came a voice that seemed to shake the very ground.
‘Dogs they may be. But they are my dogs and as such they do as I bid. Best you remember that, Mayor Cooper.’
The title ‘Mayor’ was stated with a tone dripping scorn. The voice belonged to Kadir, a massive black Vampire who now stepped from the shadows of a derelict doorway. Standing at over six feet six and weighing at least three hundred pounds he towered above the mayor and his entourage. As he stepped forward he pulled back his long leather coat, revealing the dark glint of the body armour he wore beneath. Although his voice arrived in a low, deep, grumble it somehow also managed to convey a stark coldness at the same time.
The effect was startling. In an instant the Mayor turned from pompous sailboat, in all its finery, to a leaking, beached rowboat. He started to feel that his day couldn’t get any worse. Beside him both men stood frozen, panic covering their faces, even more so than when they had been confronted by Voltan only minutes earlier. Like Voltan they knew this vampire didn’t suffer fools, but unlike Voltan, they also knew he didn’t follow any rules either. But of the greatest concern was the simple fact that Kadir worked for Rodan. And as far as they all were concerned, he was simply the worst of them all.
Engulfed by the dim, grey shadow cast by the massive vampire, the Mayor bowed and grovelled as he stuttered a response.
‘Yes, Lord Kadir, I’m sorry. I...I didn’t see you there I apologize profusely. What may I do for you this fine evening?’
With this he pulled off an even lower bow, his head just a foot or so from the pavement. The sight was indeed comical and Kadir burst into deep rumbling laughter. He extended a finger, with an inch long nail at the end, and dragged it slowly up under the Mayors chin bringing his head up to meet his gaze as he leant forward, so he was only a few inches from the Mayor’s fat, red face.
‘You know what Mayor? For a second back there I thought you’d found some backbone. He smiled and snorted. ‘I’m so glad to see that I was wrong...’ his eyes narrowed ‘…so very wrong.’
From deep within the shadows half a dozen eyes glowed, watching. There was a high-pitched chattering sound that grew louder when Kadir spoke.
‘Lord Rodan would like to see you Mayor Cooper.
Nodding furiously the Mayor responded, ‘of…. of course Lord Kadir. However I have also been summoned by Overlord Karick so, once I have….’
The vampire’s features changed in a flicker, the smile and laughter gone as he slowly shook his large head, and the chattering from the shadows grew louder and quickened in pace. Then Kadir draped one massive arm around the Mayor’s shoulders and guided him away. People bowed as they approached. Downcast eyes, full of hate, scored their backs as they passed. And the worst of it was clearly aimed at the fat Mayor, the man who was the traitor in their midst.
Chapter 7
The Serpent’s Layer
Rodan sat with his back against the long wall of a large rectangular room that had once been the home of the thriving, Michelin starred, Gilt Restaurant, one of the most prestigious and famous restaurants in New York City, situated in one of the best hotels; the New York Palace
. Soon after the War it had become Rodan’s stronghold and the building from which he managed most of mid-town, the area he had responsibility for running.
The once ornate hotel with its majestic courtyard still retained some of its earlier glory, although the walls were now decayed and watermarked. Steps climbed up from the enclosed courtyard off Madison Avenue, to the vast doors and grand entrance. Either side of the main doors two figures stood guard, each wore long coats that reached down to the ground and each fought to control the animal that they held firmly on a leash made of heavy-duty chain.
At first glance one could be mistaken for thinking that the animals that pulled against their chains were large dogs. But as Kadir and the Mayor walked through the ornate gates and into the quiet courtyard, then crossed to the steps that led up to the main entrance it become apparent that these ‘Dogs’ were in fact humanoid in shape, were in fact men crouched on all fours like some deformed animal. As the Mayor drew closer still he could hear the same, familiar, chattering sound that he and his colleagues had heard earlier, coming from the shadows as they had walked the streets, before being confronted by Kadir.
The creatures were neither wholly human nor vampire, but were instead something caught in the middle. Now as the he closed, already out of breath from the brisk walk, he stared with a mixture of contempt, and not a little fear, at the things that were left after a vampire had bitten a human, leaving them alive, but many would argue actually worse than dead. He knew them as the half-lings.
As the Mayor climbed the steps, Kadir’s hand pushing into his back, encouraging and guiding him, the two creatures jerked hard against their chain leashes, their vampire masters struggled to contain them despite their own prestigious strength. The Mayor pulled sharply back as one of the creatures reared up, its teeth gnashing and snapping at the air as he passed. Drool dripped from its yellowed teeth onto his trouser leg as their contorted faces scowled only inches from his own. The two vampires who held them erupted into roars of laughter, joined from behind by the deep rumbling laugh of Kadir, amused at the Mayors reaction. Kadir’s laugh, like rolling thunder, sent shivers down the Mayors back and with his head down he hurried quickly inside.
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