by J. C. Diem
Gregor nodded briskly. “I agree. We need to choose a human for you to try to turn.”
“Who do you suggest?” I asked dryly. “I don’t even know any humans.”
Geordie’s response was sly. “You know one. That soldier who was following you around in Manhattan and Las Vegas seemed to be very attached to you.”
“Higgins?” I remembered the soldier well. He’d been one of the few walking blood bags that hadn’t tried to kill me. He and a couple of hundred other soldiers had temporarily become my slaves. They’d helped to contain a group of officials that I’d decided to slaughter in order to teach the rest of humanity not to mess with vampires. I hadn’t given any of them another thought since that night. You were kind of busy sulking, my inner voice reminded me. Shut up! I waved a mental fist at it and it quickly retreated.
Several steps ahead of me already, Gregor stood. “I suggest you try to locate Corporal Higgins. While you do, we’ll search for a place to contain him in the event that he manages to survive the transition from mortal to vampire.” Fledglings rose with an insatiable hunger for blood and we didn’t want him to go on a killing spree.
Ever practical, Igor made a suggestion. “You should also find some food for your Corporal and bring it back with you.”
We all stood and I slanted a look at Luc. “Do you want to come with me?”
“Of course. Where you go, I go.” His tone was implacable and I caught a fleeting glimpse into his mind. He didn’t want to be parted from me again after spending so much time alone and in pieces. I had the impression that he knew I could delve into his thoughts and he guarded them tightly.
I offered my beloved my hand and he threaded his fingers through mine. An instant before we teleported, I caught Geordie’s wistful thought. I wish I could find someone to love me like that.
·~·
Chapter Ten
My connection to Higgins helped me to locate him amongst the billions of people that populated the planet. The hypnotism had forged a link between us that I followed halfway around the globe.
When Luc and I appeared before him, Higgins started back hard enough to smack his head against the wall. Ordinary in looks, he had brown hair and eyes and a medium height and build. He was sitting on a small cot and was wearing orange coveralls that were the brightest thing in the small, cramped room.
“Hi, Higgins. How are you?” As small talk went, it was kind of lame.
Standing, the corporal rubbed the back of his head and stared at us with wide eyes. “I’d feel a lot better if I wasn’t locked up in this cell,” he said after he’d gathered his wits.
I’d noticed the plain grey walls and lack of furniture, but only when I turned and saw the bars did I realize that we were in a prison. We were surrounded by the other humans that I’d once bamboozled and I’d erroneously figured we were in an army compound. The bright orange jumpsuit should have been my first clue that Higgins had been incarcerated.
“I am surprised your government did not execute you for treason,” Luc said to the former soldier.
Higgins crossed his arms and smiled wryly. “A shrink examined us and determined that we couldn’t be held accountable for our actions, since we’d been hypnotized into following Natalie’s orders. Besides, they don’t believe in execution nowadays.”
I admit I was confused. “If you’ve been cleared of all blame then why are you all in here?”
“We stood by and did nothing when you murdered our President,” he explained. “No one is ever going to be able to trust us again. They don’t know whether we can ever re-enter society after being beneath the control of a vampire.”
They hadn’t just watched idly as I’d turned their leader into chunks of flesh. They’d also shot the guests and dignitaries in the legs to prevent them from fleeing from the Kveet imp feeding frenzy. It would have been cruel to mention that, so I didn’t remind him of the actions I’d forced them all to take.
“How long do they intend to keep you imprisoned here?” Luc queried.
Higgins’ shoulders slumped in dejection. “We’ll be locked up here forever.”
The despair in his tone plucked at my conscience. I’d thought that I was done with humanity and that I lacked the ability to care what happened to them. It appeared that I’d merely suppressed the emotions beneath my rage at their treatment of my friends and allies. Not all mortals were bad. Some, like the corporal, were honourable and only wanted to serve their people and to protect their country.
“Have you heard about the mysterious fish disappearances?” I asked.
Higgins shrugged carelessly. “I’ve heard. What about them?”
“What if I told you it was caused by aliens who hitched a ride here on the Viltaran ship?”
His interest was piqued enough for him to straighten up slightly. “Then I suggest you talk to someone who is still enlisted in the army and try to become their allies again.” His tone suggested that I’d have a hard time pulling that off.
“I am afraid that humans will be less than effective in this war,” Luc told him.
Suspicion narrowed the corporal’s eyes. “Why are you here, exactly? What do you want with me?”
There was no point beating around the bush so I decided to tell him the bald truth. “I want to turn you into a vampire so you can help us fight them.”
Blinking at my statement, Higgins was momentarily speechless. I could have transported him back to France and turned him against his will, but that had been done to me and I still resented it. I didn’t have the right to decide someone else’s fate for them and I wasn’t going to force him into this.
We remained silent as the soldier thought over my offer. It didn’t take him long to reach a decision. He was only twenty-six and he’d be spending the rest of his life behind bars. Alternatively, he could accept my invitation to join the ranks of the undead and become a free man. Kind of. “Ok. Count me in.” Now that the decision had been made, he was eager to commence his transition. “Are you going to make the same offer to the other guys?”
He indicated the man staring at us from across the wide hallway. I recognized him instantly. Sergeant Wesley hadn’t changed much since I’d seen him last. He was still short with wide shoulders and had sandy blonde hair. His expression was both curious and guarded. We were speaking too quietly for him to be able to hear us so he had no idea why we were here. “That depends on how turning you goes,” I said.
Higgins regarded me uncertainly. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve never turned a human before. You’ll be my first.”
His chest puffed out in pride that he’d been my first choice. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take, ma’am.”
Luc turned his head at the sound of several guards approaching. Cameras were probably watching each cell, so they knew we were here. “We should leave,” he suggested.
“One more thing,” I said as the guards rapidly closed the distance to the cell. “Who is the worst criminal in this jail?”
“That would be Danny McCredie, otherwise known as Diabolical Danny,” Higgins replied and threw a worried glance through the door of his cell where the guards would shortly appear.
“Let’s pay him a visit.” Taking both men by the hand, I searched the jail. There were several men called Daniel or Danny but there was only one man who was truly diabolical. Just before the guards sprinted into view, I teleported us down two levels and into McCredie’s cell.
Lying on his bed with his back to us, Danny stared dreamily up at the ceiling. He gave no indication that he knew we were there. I’d read enough about the criminal from Higgins’ mind to know he was indeed the worst of the worst. Nicknamed ‘Diabolical Danny’ by the press, he preyed on boys between the ages of five and twelve. Molesting them would’ve been bad enough, but he hadn’t stopped there. Once he was done with them, he chopped them up and ate them to hide the evidence of his heinous deeds. A neighbour had become suspicious of his tendency to burn things in a pit in his backyard late at ni
ght and had called the cops. The police had caught their suspect shovelling human remains into his homemade pit. The final nail on his coffin was when they’d found containers of human flesh in the fridge and freezer. Each had been labelled with the dead kids’ names.
Naturally bald, Danny’s skull sported a tattoo of a demon’s face. More tattoos covered his arms. All depicted images of monsters straight out of hell. He was a large man with muscles that bulged against his orange jumpsuit. I shuddered at the mental pictures of the poor kids that had suffered at his hands. If anyone deserved to be torn apart by a fledgling vampire, it was this guy. “We’re taking him with us,” I told my companions.
Luc stepped over to the bunk as shouts came from out in the hall. We’d just been spotted by the camera lurking in a corner of the cell. Lost in his memories, Danny’s eyes remained vague as he was dragged off the cot and to his feet. He towered over Luc by several inches. A small smile played around the criminal’s mouth. It would be a pleasure to see it replaced with a scream.
We’d only been gone for a short while, but Gregor and the others were waiting for us when I dragged my companions across the globe again. Higgins’ knees wobbled and Luc steadied him while keeping a firm grip on our prisoner when we arrived.
Our friends had gathered in Gregor’s library. “I believe we should move to another location to discuss our plans,” Gregor said and nodded significantly towards the sitting room down the hall. My senses told me that Millicent and her retinue had returned. “The catacombs should be a suitable location to perform our experiment in.”
“Join hands,” I told them all quietly. Once they’d complied, I zapped us all directly into the remains of what had once been a beautiful mansion. A fire had ravaged both the main building and the separate building that had once been a barracks for the guards. Old rubble and ash were piled to one side and the place hadn’t been touched in years. No one had made any attempt to rebuild it so far. Regret flickered across Luc, Igor and Geordie’s faces. Their stay in the mansion might not have been pleasant most of the time, but it had been their only home for centuries.
Blinking slowly, as if rousing from a dream, Diabolical Danny swept his muddy brown eyes across the group and settled on Ishida. The teen would have been sickened by the thoughts that passed through the inmate’s mind. Geordie drew back, picking up on the malevolence that emanated from the man who would shortly become a snack for Higgins.
Ishida would be insulted if I asked him to remain behind, so I shut out the images that were coming from the convict and scanned the ground beneath our feet. I sensed no life in the catacombs. For all I knew, they’d been discovered by the humans and might even have been filled in.
“I did not realize the mansion had been destroyed,” Gregor said softly and with regret. “I should have ensured that it was also protected during our absence.”
“It was not your responsibility,” Luc assured him. “Perhaps it is for the best that the mansion no longer stands.” He for one wouldn’t miss the place and he’d never intended to live here again anyway.
“I’ll just check to see whether the catacombs are still intact.” I said then teleported several levels beneath the ground.
Little had changed since I’d last seen the dozens of cells where humans had been kept as cattle for the courtiers and Councillors. The bars of the cells were rustier than I remembered, but they would be sturdy enough to contain a couple of prisoners. I quickly popped upwards to check the servants’ quarters and the courtier level. All were fine, if dusty. The staircase that had once led to the mansion was clogged with dirt and debris. It would take an excavator to stumble across the opening and I doubted the humans had plans to build anything on the grounds.
By the time I reappeared on the surface, Igor held a makeshift torch of a length of wood and a few scraps of fabric in his hand. When we were all touching again, I zapped us beneath the ground. The light from Igor’s torch only stretched for a few yards around us. It wouldn’t last long, but that was ok. Pretty soon, everyone who was still alive in the catacombs would be able to see in the dark anyway. Night vision was just one of our many perks.
Gregor fished a key from his pocket and indicated that we should deposit our inmate inside. He’d stolen one of the prison keys decades ago and even he hadn’t been sure why. It came in handy now and Luc propelled McCredie through the door.
“Let’s do this before I change my mind,” Higgins said. A nervous tic started up in his jaw as he clenched his teeth. He was about to leave his mortal life behind and he would never be human again. Briefly, second thoughts rose but he manfully squelched them down.
“I’m going to cut my wrist,” I said and took the small dagger that Igor offered me. I was glad he hadn’t handed me the machete that was hanging at his waist. While cutting myself didn’t hurt all that much, I preferred a small cut to a large one any day. “I heal very quickly, so you’ll have to be quick.”
The corporal looked ill at the thought of drinking my blood. “Don’t you have to drain me before I drink your blood?”
“I don’t think so.” To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what I was doing, which was the story of my life. “I seem to be different from my kin.” That was an understatement and a half. “Let’s just try this and see if it works.”
Bracing himself, Higgins moved closer until he was standing only inches away. I sliced deeply into my left wrist and he took hold of me, bent and put his mouth to the wound. He managed two swallows before the cut closed, but two were enough.
Snapping upright, his back arched and his mouth opened in a silent scream as agony ripped through him. His hands flailed and caught mine in a grip that would have crushed a mere human. He fell to the floor and I knelt beside him as he writhed in agony. Linked to his mind, I felt him dying as my tainted blood coursed through his veins, spreading like the malevolent virus that it was.
Gasping for air, his breathing slowed and his chest heaved twice before going still. A few seconds passed before I felt a new kind of life infuse the corpse of the fallen soldier. Higgins’ eyes snapped open and his grip on my hand made my bones creak. Scarlet light washed over me as he examined my face. I helped him to his feet and he turned to study the others. He went still as he spied Danny and I felt the blood hunger rise up to twist his insides. His instincts kicked in as he identified the only source of food in the room.
Gregor opened the cell door as my first ever human servant lurched forward with his hands outstretched. The door was locked once he was inside. Higgins’ brand new fangs descended and glinted in the torchlight. Awareness of sudden and immediate danger filtered through Diabolical Danny’s psychosis. He tore his gaze away from Ishida and turned towards the fledgling vampire that was about to eat him. Right on cue, Igor’s torch began to fail. It winked out just as the inmate backed into the bars and realized that he had nowhere left to go.
Shrill screams rent the air as the glow from my minion’s eyes became noticeable to his prey. Higgins was far smaller than McCredie, but he easily overpowered the larger man and bore him to the ground. He sank his fangs deep into the shrieking criminal’s neck. Clawing at my fledgling vampire’s face, Danny thrashed in terror. His struggles became weaker as my servant drank his fill. With a final burst of energy, he gave his attacker a taste of what he was suffering by biting him on the shoulder. Uh oh. I hadn’t anticipated the possibility that the inmate might ingest Higgins’ blood.
Blood coated Higgins’ mouth and chin when he was done. Crawling away, he sat with his back against the bars and covered his face with his hands.
I hadn’t told my friends about the second rat, so what was about to happen would be a surprise to everyone. We watched as Danny clutched at his chest as his newly tainted blood reached his heart. Just like Higgins, he gasped, writhed and his chest heaved. His feet twitched a few times and then he expired.
“Is he about to turn into your second generation fledgling?” Geordie asked me shakily.
“Um. Yes,” I replied a
nd was unsurprised when all gazes briefly turned to me.
When Danny’s eyes opened seconds later, they were blazing red instead of muddy brown. Climbing to his feet, he swept his scarlet gaze across us and settled on Ishida. His grin was hungry, but not for the black ooze that ran through Ishida’s veins. His deeply ingrained mental illness had mingled with his blood hunger and had catapulted him directly to a raging flesh hunger.
“Did you know that this might happen?” Gregor asked.
“I should have warned you that it might,” I admitted. “The rat that bit me wasn’t alone. The second rat took a chunk out of the first one when it was being munched on. It turned as well.”
Ignoring us, McCredie was fixated on Ishida. “Come inside and play, little boy,” he crooned in a deep, gravelly voice that was enough to give any child nightmares. “I have a present for you.” He grabbed his bulging crotch meaningfully.
Geordie made a sound of profound disgust when he realized what the inmate wanted to do to his friend.
“I would be most appreciative if you would allow me to destroy this…creature, Mortis.” Ishida’s tone was offhand but his voice trembled slightly.
Sickened by the new images raging through Diabolical Danny’s mind, I nodded my agreement. Igor offered the teen his machete. Ishida took the weapon and waited for Gregor to unlock and open the door. His expression was inscrutable as the criminal leaped towards him.
Size meant nothing when you were facing an opponent that was highly skilled in weaponry. Danny crashed into the bars as Ishida sidestepped his lunge. Looking down, he roared in rage when he saw his intestines spilling out of a wide gash in his orange prison outfit. Whirling around, he screamed when one of his hands was hacked off and thudded to the ground.
Piece by piece, Ishida reduced my second generation minion into a quivering pile of severed flesh. With a final swipe of his borrowed machete, he cut the monster’s head off. “That is for all the children you violated then murdered,” he said to the slushy remains that had been a notorious killer only seconds ago.
