All the world was a cage at that moment. Everyone who had ever lived was trapped inside an invisible wall of fire that burned every cell in their bodies at the mere thought of moving and yet none of them would have moved regardless. The very moisture in the air hung around Hank like particles of so much blood spread out through a world of hatred and violence and wonder and death and murder and he could do nothing but stand there knowing that he would never hold Toby’s hand again, he would never watch the boy grow to manhood. He would never stand by his son as the boy’s wife walked down the aisle.
He would never hold his child again.
And it was within this daze that Hank mentally collapsed until finally a single sound broke through. The voice of the thing that had just murdered his son.
“Oi, what you doin’ there, Henry? You look like a poor bloke who just watched his own flesh and blood come to an end hanging over a fucking dumpster in the middle of shitstain alley.” Jack laughed wildly.
And that was all it took to turn that switch. Just a few words spoken by the man who had turned the world upside down. Raindrops began to fall as every pore in Hank’s body screamed out for him to run. Instead he walked, taking each step like the blast of a shotgun into the fiery gut of God himself. Jack watched him with a sly smile across his face and the building rain soaking his hair and streaming down his cheek and around the line of that sharp terrible grin.
The rainwater began to splash under Hank’s feet as he stepped up onto the broken blacktop that made up the alleyway until he came face to face with Draper. The two stared at each other for a long time. Hank’s face one of contorted, exhausted rage and Jack’s one of sick amused contempt.
“I could only imagine the look on his lordship’s face if he saw just who was standing here still alive right before me. What’s it like to come back from the dead, eh, Hank?”
“You’ll never know.” He grabbed Jack’s throat like it was the only thing that could keep him from drowning in the deepest pit of despair and horror of the world.
Chapter 40
The Rocket’s Red Glare
As many times as Ishan had experienced it before, living someone else’s life was fascinating but with the ancient ones, there always came a point where you just wanted it to stop. But there never was any stopping once the wheel started turning. And this was the longest life Ishan could have ever imagined experiencing. The length of it almost made him take pity for Simon for having to experience Ishan’s entire first two millennia. But no matter what he tried to concentrate on, what he tried to distract himself with, he was there and he couldn’t make it go away. So, eventually he realized he just had to endure it.
He’d known from the time Bellona had met the strange human that it was only a matter of time before things between them took a dark turn. Her ancestor vampires started to disappear at random from time to time without warning and she knew exactly what had happened to them and yet she continued for the longest time to make excuses. Before long the excuses melted into acceptance and beyond that they finally grew into a single unsettling warning sign.
This creature she had been harboring wasn’t satisfied with the blood she allotted it. And to top that off, it had become increasingly violent with her. Several times when it had tried to drink from her and she had denied it, the creature attacked her. Beat her. And then drank from her as she lay bruised and withdrawn. This behavior went on for months before Bellona finally decided she’d had enough. And then came the night that it happened.
The dawn was near and Bellona took to her cave and lay down to sleep before the sun rose. She was fast asleep when the touch of another woke her. Someone was trying to disrobe her. Having had her fill of him lately, she pushed him away. What took place next surprised even Ishan. When she wouldn’t give the creature what it wanted, it took her by force, pressing her face into the cave floor and bloodying her nose in the process. When it was over, Bellona just lay there waiting for the thing to leave. When it did not she waited for it to fall asleep.
She had often wondered what it would take to kill such a creature. Was it more like the human and could die in a multitude of ways? Or was it more like a vampire and would only die by a select number of means? She hadn’t wanted a reason to find out. Yet now that was just what she was going to do. He could walk in the daylight, she’d figured that much out, so maybe, just maybe if it didn’t die by one means of vampire death, it might just be more susceptible to the many ways in which a human could die.
She wanted to snap the creature’s neck with her bare hands, but it was so strong she was afraid she would only wake him up to beat on her more. So as it slept into the evening that night, she sent her children in great number to drink from the creature. And drink they did until he was dead. And that was the last of her worries of the man. Except…
The child inside her was growing quickly and it would only be a matter of time before it would be born. Concern filled Bellona’s mind on a daily basis as she waited for that day to come. The one thing that kept her from trying to kill the thing inside of her was feeling the connection with it. It wasn’t a part of her like her other children. But it was a part of her nonetheless. She could feel its love for her and she could let it feel hers in return. Unlike her other children, it’s mind wasn’t just an extension of hers, but a true mind of its own.
And when the day came that the child was born, she made a decision then and there to raise him like a man. To give him a name and teach him language and let him see the world. To feed him well but teach him restraint so he would not become like his father had been. As she held the baby boy in her arms and wiped the blood and placenta from him, she cooed and whispered in his ear, “I’ve been waiting so long for you. Welcome home, Josephus.”
* * *
Rain dripped down into Hank’s eyes as he pushed Jack down toward the pavement. He was stronger than he’d ever been and now he had a reason to use it. He hated every moment of that reason but it was fueling his muscles to push down into Jack’s larynx and that was all he wanted to do right now.
In between dramatic gasps for air, Jack struggled to speak. “You… haven’t… figured… it… out… yet… have you?”
Hank screamed back at Jack as he lifted and smashed the back of the monster’s head into the pavement and then let go of his throat and stood up.
“You can’t bloody choke me to death, I don’t need to breathe.” Jack began to chuckle as he lay there puddling over with rain. His laughter dug into that sore spot that could still somehow feel somewhere deep within Hank’s psyche. He ran forward to stomp into Jack’s ribcage and before he could make it, Draper grabbed his leg from behind him and pulled so that Hank fell with a breath-stopping thud into the pavement. Hank gasped for air, his lungs unable to function.
“Now, you on the other hand, mate, you bloody need to breathe, now don’t you?” Jack kicked Hank in the left side of his own ribcage then. Hank could only roll away from the vampire, still struggling to take in air. When he rolled completely over he smacked into the blue dumpster with a clang and a single drop of blood dripped down from the edge of it and landed on Hank’s face as he stared up into the oncoming rain blasting down on him. Gasping for air out of sheer bodily compulsion, he wanted nothing more than to let his body go. Let the whole world fade away. It wasn’t worth anything to him now. Not without Diana, not without Toby. What could he stand to get up in the mornings for now?
Breath began to finally fill his lungs and Hank coughed a painful tearing cough as he rolled over waiting for Jack to finish him off and get it over with. But Jack didn’t come to finish him off. He didn’t even come to hit him again. But he did come to laugh. He knelt down right over Hank’s back and let out the devilish laugh of a man who had just won big at the tracks.
“I love to watch you squirm, Hank. Your weak little body just lays there and mourns for that sweet little boy. Oh, I assure you it was quite worth it for me to track him across the country just for the taste of that sweet—” Hank sw
iveled and blasted a fist into Draper’s mouth, knocking at least a dozen teeth back into his throat. Jack spit them out and gave Hank a bloody toothless grin.
“Now there we go, mate. Let’s get this on then.”
Hank swung forward and Jack moved out of the way kicking him in the right shoulder blade from behind. Hank swung around the other side and landed a punch in Jack’s right cheek breaking the cheekbone. Jack fell backwards grabbing hold of his cheek and Hank took the opportunity to kick Jack in the other side of his face. Another crack of cheekbone and Jack’s grin turned into a deep scowl.
He turned and ran up the side of the building until he was even with the blue dumpster then landed on it on his feet. Hank picked up a large plank of wood sitting against the wall of the opposite building and swung it around at Jack’s legs. Jack jumped just in time to miss it and landed back down on the dumpster with a loud dull resonating thud.
Hank threw the plank aside and threw a punch directly into Jack’s right shin, breaking it clean and sending the vampire down to his back. Jack cried out and moaned as he scooted away from Hank and against the wall. And for a moment there Hank took pleasure in what he had done. But it was short-lived as Jack’s moans turned into choking laughter.
“Sticks and stones might break my bones, but Hank will never hurt me,” he screamed. Then he launched himself down on Hank and grabbed him from behind, the hollow of his elbow at Hank’s neck and flexing to close around it. Hank elbowed backward into Jack’s ribs but it did no good. So, he did the only other thing he could think of to do. He bit down into Jack’s arm and began to drink the bastard’s blood.
Jack screamed out and threw Hank forward into a heap on the ground. Rain continued to slosh all around as Hank sat there trying to regain his focus. He thought of the moments he would never have with his son. He thought of the years he had cared for the boy and all the birthdays he had celebrated. He thought of the last two years when Hank had barely been able to take more than five minutes to spend with his only son because he was so goddamn obsessed with putting an end to the Empire. And in those thoughts returned the rage. And with that rage he turned and he ran for Jack with every ounce of fury within him screaming out.
His body slammed into Jack’s with a force neither one of them expected. Hank’s hand burst forward and reached into Jack’s chest and broke the skin just inside his ribs and he gripped hold of the rib bone and pulled with all his might. When his hand came back it brought a chunk of flesh and bone nearly as large as his hand and blood spat out in a huge gob from the open wound. Jack’s body fell with a splash to the pavement like a sack of potatoes and for a split second Hank thought the thing was dead.
Jack swung his left leg up and kicked Hank in the gut hard enough to send his body backward and off balance.
“You’re bloody stronger than I thought, Mr. Evans. I might even have to take back all that bollocks I said about you being so weak.” He laughed and spat out some more teeth. “But I hope you know, you still don’t have a chance. I’m only just getting started and I can go all bloody night long.”
It was Hank’s turn to laugh now. “You think I’m spent? I’ve only just begun myself. And unlike you I can keep going once the sun’s come up.” Hank punctuated the sentence by running forward and somersaulting feet first into Jack’s rib cage, his right shoe pressing into the already deep wound Hank had just made in Jack’s chest. He squatted down with his foot still in place inside the bastard’s ribcage. Jack started punching at Hank’s side and Hank tuned out the pain as he grabbed hold of the back of Jack’s head and started to thrash it against the pavement. He would make the fucker bleed as much as possible. Then when the time was right…
* * *
Jamie, one of the Foederati soldiers assigned to watch the safehouse turned on the TV in the small little room. He set it to the local news then sat back down at the table next to George. George had been eager to see what the national and local networks were putting out there. He didn’t have much hope that the Empire wasn’t diluting every single broadcast that went out. After a short segment about an unrelated riot that had occurred in the French Quarter earlier in the evening, they actually began to talk about the book. George was excited. He couldn’t believe a local station was actually getting away with spreading the news. The reporter was out on location at one of the many areas of town where you could pick up a copy of the book asking people what they thought about it.
All kinds of opinions from believing it was faked, to being outraged at what it had to say about the Emperor, to being completely confused and undecided on how to feel were showcased in the report. Before long, a large number of trucks began to arrive nearby and gunshots erupted right there on live television. The last thing the channel broadcast before going into static was the dropped camera’s view of a wet city street and the sound of the female reporter’s scream followed by a solitary gunshot. A tear slid down George’s cheek as he sat there watching the blue snow on the screen. Neither he nor Jamie spoke as they watched the flickering static.
Finally Jamie got up and changed the channel to a national station right in the middle of a live announcement from the Emperor himself.
“Lord Caesar, what can you tell us about this book that’s being distributed out on the streets?”
A multitude of microphones were aimed in Joseph’s face as he smiled and spoke calmly.
“Those who would have us dissolve into hell have spread the seed of doubt amongst the flock. But we are strong and we will hold strong together as these sheep go astray and become terrible wolves who will attack us when we least expect it. But not only will we be strong, we will not wait for them to come back to us with their sharp teeth and claws. We will bring the war to them. There is a growing militia out there. Some of you might have heard of this organization before. It has been decades since they have had the guts to show their faces before the Lord’s mighty Empire, but they are called the Foederati. And they will stop at nothing to destroy our way of life and drag our souls down into hell.
“So, let us show them what the Lord is capable of and that He will have no patience with those who would disobey Him. Brothers and sisters, we are now a nation at civil war and it is time for you to choose if you will be on the side of the devil, the great beast who will devour your souls and spit you out into the lake of fire… or if you are with the Lord your God almighty!”
A cheer rose up from within the temple where they were filming. George swallowed hard and thought about what this nation would be like in civil war with this madman in control.
* * *
Gunfire and explosions filled the nighttime air as Tommy ran toward the battle with his M-16 loaded and ready. He was proud to be doing something more with himself than drinking it away for the first time in his life. When he made it behind the black Foederati van he and his brother Daryn had driven in with, he found him ducked down inside the sliding door reloading his own M-16.
“You all right, Daryn?”
“I’m just fine. And hey, now that you’re here, you can help me out.” He took a deep breath and then pulled his legs up into the van. “Get in here and get your ass in the driver’s seat and start ‘er up. We’re goin’ for a ride.” Daryn grinned and Tommy couldn’t help but grin back at the sight of it. He climbed into the van and did as his brother told him to. The keys were in the ignition, so all he had to do was turn the engine over. It roared into life as he revved up the gas. In the rearview mirror he could see Daryn pointing his M-16 out one of the side windows and motioning for Tommy to drive. “Go, Tommy Ray. Go, go, go.”
Tommy shifted the gear into drive and hit the gas and the van took off faster than he expected. He swerved the wheel around until they were headed directly for the enemy who was currently holed up behind a large concrete fountain shaped into the likeness of the Emperor himself. As they grew closer Tommy swerved the van to the left so that Daryn could fire at the Imperial soldiers hiding behind the concrete statue of Caesar. But what they found behin
d that statue was not what they expected.
Intermingled with the dozens of Imperial solders were human vampires and as Tommy tried to swerve the van back around, one of them jumped up and latched its teeth onto Daryn’s throat and he began to scream in a gurgling manner. Tommy screamed too, twisting the steering wheel round and round and round until it seemed like the van would never get turned around and the last thing he saw in the rearview mirror as the van smashed into a brick wall was Daryn’s feet kicking just inside the window as his body was pulled from the van. Then everything went black.
Chapter 41
Bitter Vengeance
Simon reached down and picked Ishan up from underneath his arms then swung the ancient vampire over his shoulder. He had no idea just how ironic it was that he was doing this. He tried to carry him steadily as the ground began to shake. Rocks, dust and stalactites fell all around. He picked up his speed, trying to keep Ishan’s body from getting pelted as much as possible. No matter what was happening on the surface it would always be safe deep within the belly of the hive. Sliding down narrow corridors, Simon eventually came to the large open space that always made his stomach drop when he looked down into its black empty abyss.
Being accustomed to seeing in the dark made it even more dizzying when you were actually able to look down into a pit and see darkness. That’s how deep the pit was. All along the cave ceiling and the various chunks of rock that spread out into the open air thousands of ancestor vampires perched hanging upside down in preparation of the coming sunrise. Simon knew that soon he too would have to lie down and close his eyes before the coming dawn revealed itself. He found a long enough ditch to place Ishan in where his body would be safe and covered and dark enough to keep any humans from seeing him if they should wander in such a place. Not that they would survive for long if they had.
Empire of Blood (Book 2): Fading In Darkness Page 25
