by Tonya Nagle
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Chapter 16
Just as the sun sank below the horizon, David came into the kitchen. Donovan had a large black bag on the table.
"What's this?" asked David.
"Well, you said that we'd be going up against untold evil. So I paid to use the hotel's computer for a little while to look up what we might need to battle the dark forces, you know anything Brilla might call up. Then I went out and bought a few things, which was tough going with stores closing and people leaving."
"Where exactly do you look up 'battling dark forces'?"
"Believe it or not, there are quite a few very informative sites. But in the end, I emailed Mama Joe."
"And she emailed back?"
"Yes. Her laptop must be on battery or something. When I emailed a second time, the email bounced back. No more signals in New Orleans."
"A wireless tower must have gone down," said David. He went through the bag.
Holding up the crucifix, he said, "This only has power if you truly believe in it. Are you a devoted Christian?"
"Not really."
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David put the bottles of holy water next to the cross. Then he pulled out wooden stakes.
"Planning on vampire hunting?"
"Not you or Laura, of course. We just don't know what Brilla's got."
"What's this, a net?" David didn't want to pull out the whole thing.
"Well, it could come in handy."
Then David quickly withdrew his hands. "You have garlic in there. Be sure and keep that away from Laura and me, okay?"
"Anything you say." His father-in-law packed all the blood he'd bought into the cooler.
"You're packing everything?"
Donovan closed the lid. "I don't think we'll be coming back here. Besides you said she stopped eating, so I thought . . ."
He nodded. "You're right."
The TV, which had been crackling, blinking in and out from a talk show, buzzed with a break-in of the Emergency Broadcast Network. The governor of Florida declared an emergency evacuation.
David picked up the cooler and carried it out to the car. He started the car when he saw his father-in-law standing away from the door, transfixed. David flew out through the missing windshield and floated over the scene. Two very large glowing snakes had Donovan within striking distance. Swooping down like a hawk, David grabbed each snake by the back of the neck. With the strength in his fingers, he snapped their necks and dropped their lifeless bodies to the ground. The snakes shimmered then disappeared.
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"Whoa. Do you think Brilla knows we're here?"
"I'd say so. It's time we left. Laura needs us," replied David. They packed everything else into the car. The wind kicked up a fuss, and dark clouds covered the moon, as they pulled out onto the road.
***
Brilla's scream brought Laura back out of the house. Blood deprivation showed on Laura's face and form, which had wrinkled and dried like fruit too long on the tree.
She moved slowly and was easily scared. The mambo trembled and stared into the pot.
"What's wrong?" Laura asked.
Brilla looked up. Catching herself, she started to laugh. "No. It was nothing."
"That was quite a scream for nothing." Laura gazed down into the pot and tried to spot the trouble for herself.
Brilla gasped. She no longer looked in the cauldron but up by the house. Laura followed her stare.
Two men appeared from around the side of the house. One was young and oh, so familiar. He had dark hair and eyes, and just the sight of him made Laura feel warm all over. The other man was much older. His gray grizzled hair and beard looked familiar but less so.
Brilla hissed, "You're not wanted here, strangers."
"I'm not a stranger, Brilla. You know me," said the older one. "I remember when you said I wasn't worthy of Juliette. We're here for Laura."
"Who are they, Brilla?" Laura walked up to the invisible wall.
Suddenly on the other side of the wall, a huge glowing serpent sprung from the sand. It grew larger and larger, towering over them.
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"Qudis, consume," commanded the mambo, raising her hand.
"Hey, man, I have nothing in my bag against snakes that big," shouted the older man.
It all happened in a blink. The young man flew straight up to the Qudis's head to attack. It plummeted downward with jaws spread wide.
Laura leapt into the sky.
"No," screamed Brilla, raising her hands to conjure.
Two bolts of lightning sprang from Laura's fingers. One struck at Brilla's feet, knocking her down, while the other struck the Qudis. Pieces of snake glittered and fell like dried leaves to the ground. Laura rubbed her sparking fingers and landed.
The young man landed and walked through the line of fish bones in the sand, shuffling his feet to destroy the pattern. Carrying the heavy black bag, the older man followed him. Walking right up to Laura, the young man embraced her. She knew him, but as soon as they touched.
"David!"
"Yes, my darling."
Then she looked to the older man. "And you are . . ."
Before she could finish, he said, "A friend."
David frowned. "No. This is Donovan Dupre, your . . ."
"Papa!" She hugged him. "I knew I would see you again. I just knew it."
"Let's get you out of here."
The pot exploded. A fiery shaft grew from the ground and ghastly white creatures with talons and claws emerged from it, licking the rich flames for sustenance. Their faces looked wizened and old. Their mouths and ears were stretched to a point. But the 175
eyes were the most frightening. Black holes glowed with fiery embers--not bright, just the tiniest flicker of light to make you look again and again. Mortals would be so drawn by the eyes that they would miss the long, gray-white fangs that extended beyond their mouths. The Keres glowered at Brilla, hovering over her with fangs dripping.
"Why have you summoned us?" hissed one.
"He tried to bind her." She gestured excitedly at David.
David grabbed Laura and Donovan and flew into the air.
A sickly white and yellow cloud grew around them. Laura tried to call to the storm, but it wasn't a storm. David pushed Laura behind him, and she held onto her father, shielding him.
Claws, fangs, and long pointed tongues separated from the cloud and with breakneck speed pushed the three against the ground.
Pinned in the dirt, David struggled. He clawed at them. His anger roared through him, as he tried to throw them off. Their sheer numbers overwhelmed him.
Then a Kere plunged his tusk-like fangs into David's shoulder. Laura felt his body lurch in pain. He didn't scream. Desperate, she squirmed free and staked the Kere through the back with the unicorn's horn. It writhed then turned to dust.
Donovan wriggled free and managed to get to his bag. He pulled out two stakes.
When he tried to use them against an attacking Kere, he found them pointed in the wrong direction. Laura staked the Kere who was about to kill her father. Dust fluttered down on Donovan.
Then she flew like a whirlwind staking Keres right and left. She walked through their dust to attack more. But as many as she destroyed, more sprung up to replace them.
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Adam came around the corner of the house.
Before she could warn him, four Keres knocked him down, his body disappearing under the gray, writhing mess.
"No," she cried.
The Keres regrouped and surrounded Donovan, David, and Laura. David lay on the ground, turning gray, his open shoulder pouring blood onto the sand.
Donovan searching frantically through his bag tossed things out at the Keres.
They picked up the crucifix, examined it, and muttered before tossing it away. He threw holy water on them and they laughed. When he threw out several strings of garlic, they shrieked backing away. It provided a mere pause in their attack as they moved around the garlic on the ground and
closed in on the three.
Donovan threw out the net, which fell over a Kere. It passed through his body and lay useless on the ground. Another Kere picked it up laughing and threw it behind him. It fell on Brilla next. She stumbled trying to free herself and became more entangled.
The Keres tightened their circle, getting closer. Donovan stood with Laura over David who was dying. Donovan held a silver spike. Laura held her unicorn's horn.
"Stop," she screamed.
"Do not fight us, female, and we will spare you," one hissed.
"It was Brilla who kept me against my will. These men came to set me free."
The Keres paused and turned to Brilla, who frantically screeched unintelligible words. The Keres turned toward Donovan.
Laura hissed holding the unicorn's horn with one hand and holding her father's arm with the other. "Do you have anything else in that bag?"
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The bag was empty except for one thing. Donovan held up a small photograph, and the Keres backed away.
"Quick. We've got to get David out of here." With her vampire strength, Laura picked up David, who was now unconscious, and rushed toward the house. Donovan covered her back, all the while holding up the photo against the Keres.
She turned quickly to see why they weren't following. The Keres hissed angrily at the mambo. Brilla shrieked at them in an ancient tongue. They growled in response, then attacked. Blood splattered everywhere as they consumed her then disappeared into the ground. It started to rain. Laura took one last, quick glance. Adam was nowhere to be seen.
Donovan put the photo into his pocket and locked the door. As Laura carried David into her bedroom and placed him on the bed, his eyes fluttered and he moaned.
"He needs blood."
"I've got some in the car," said Donovan.
"That's it. Let's get him in the car."
"No," roared David. Then he gasped. He gripped Laura's arm. "I'm turning.
Donovan, get her out of here."
She looked to her father. "Get the blood."
Donovan left and returned with the cooler of blood and two glasses. He helped her hold David up so he could drink. He faded in and out of consciousness, turning a ghastly color of dark gray. David was ripped open from the tip of his shoulder to the base of his neck.
"Usually the wound starts healing by now but instead it's spreading." Laura soaked a clean sponge with blood and wiped the wound. The blood absorbed into the 178
gap, as if into a hungry mouth. She sponged in more blood and the result was the same.
Still the wound wouldn't close. With every passing minute, David's condition worsened.
Donovan handed Laura a glass of blood. She was about to dip the sponge, when he said, "This is for you. Drink."
She looked at him helplessly.
"You'll need to be strong to help him."
Laura drank. Even after one glass, Donovan could see her becoming younger before his eyes. After three more glasses, her youthful vitality in face and form was restored. Her complexion pearl-like with a hint of rose at the cheeks. Her hair the palest gold. It astounded Donovan at how like her mother she was. She was more beautiful than her picture.
David's eyes turned red. His fangs extended beyond his mouth. Grabbing Donovan by the arm, he gasped, "Take her and run. Now!"
Laura held another glass of blood to his lips.
"No," he thundered. This time the whole house trembled. His mouth elongated.
His ears stretched to points.
Laura wept. Tears flowed down her face. She couldn't bear the idea of losing him.
Then Donovan said, "There's some myth. I read it online. In the old days, they used the unicorn's horn to purify water in wells if they suspected they were poisoned.
We should use the horn."
"What if it kills him?"
"If we don't try, he will become one of those hellish creatures."
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They both looked over at David, who contorted in pain. The two made a silent agreement.
Laura handed the horn to her father. "You cauterize the edges, and I'll hold him down."
"No," David bellowed, "run before I kill you."
David saw what was coming. He growled and hissed at them. The part of him that was not yet a Kere struggled to keep his reason. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Donovan rubbed the edge of the horn against the ragged mouth of the wound.
Laura cried as he burned. David screamed. She had never heard him scream before.
She didn't want to do it, but they had to. The stench of burning flesh filled the small house. His body wildly lurched. His inhuman shrieks were unbearable, but they couldn't stop until the interior of the gaping wound had been burnt black. When Donovan finished, she pulled her father quickly away with her. They watched by the door. David writhed and twitched in torment then stopped moving.
"David?" she asked.
There was no answer.
"Maybe he's dead," said Donovan.
"No. He's a vampire. He would turn to ashes."
"What if he changes into a Kere?"
"I can't leave him."
They both stood there, not moving.
"So we wait." Donovan was the first to go out into the next room. A few minutes later, Laura came into the living room. Her father stared at The Weather Channel. The 180
TV kept blinking on and off, until it went off. The last thing Laura saw was the evacuation notice for the Keys.
"Well, that looks bad." She sat down in the dark.
"You could stop the storm."
She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you and David."
"Then we should get him into the car and leave. The winds are already bad."
"Hurricanes don't bother vampires," she said, "but you don't have to stay."
Donovan smiled. "Yes, I do."
They both sat facing each other in the living room not saying a word while the wind whipped outside. Laura knew there was nothing more she could do for David other than wait and be there for him.
"When we were fighting the Keres, it looked like we were finished until you held up a picture. Was it of Jesus or a saint? I'm just curious."
Donovan handed her the photo from his pocket. The woman was young and beautiful, her hair golden like honey. She wore a white gown and carried a bouquet of white lilies. Laura smiled as radiantly as the woman in the photo.
"David said that in order for a thing to have power, you must really believe in it.
I've always believed in your mother."
A tear fell down Laura's cheek. "She never said anything bad about you. She told us to pray for you because you had lost your way home to us." Her voice broke. "Mama always loved you."
Donovan sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeve.
"Funny thing though," continued Laura. "I always had these dreams. I'd dream over and over about you almost coming to New Orleans and then something would 181
happen like your car would break down. Something would always stop you from reaching the city."
He added, ". . . like when the bus went to the wrong place when the schedule clearly said New Orleans, or when the plane couldn't land because of a sudden weather disturbance and landed instead in Mobile. It all started the night I went to the store for milk and eggs. The next day I woke up in my truck parked on the side of the road next to the exit sign for Orlando. At first, I didn't know who I was. When I remembered, I headed for home. But every attempt failed, some only inches from the city line. I tried calling countless times, and not a single call went through. I'd always hear this strange humming on the other side of the line. When I finally got to New Orleans, your mother had moved you and no one would tell me where."
"Then my dreams were real! You were trying to come home."
"I dreamt of you growing up." He sighed. "And a day ago, I was in a car crash and I spent some time in a hospital. I saw you by my bed."
"That was real?"
He nodded.
Laura flew int
o his arms. "Papa, I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too. But I wouldn't have gotten far without David. For a vampire, he's a good man."
Laura smiled and wiped the tears with her hands. Then she got up and walked back into the bedroom. David looked every bit like the twenty-year-old man, who died at Gettysburg. The frightening, tusk-like fangs were gone. Even the wound had closed and sealed leaving only a thin scar, horizontal with his collarbone. He looked exactly like the David she fell in love with.
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Laura sat on the bed and touched his face, running her fingers over the barely-there stubble of a beard that never grew. Bending over, she kissed him. Her tongue pushed his lips open and touched his fangs. When she opened her eyes, David was gazing into them.
"Laura, you didn't leave!"
"Of course not."
He sat up hugging her. "I told you to leave."
"Do I always listen to you?"
"Obviously a married couple." Donovan chuckled, as he left closing the door.
Laura climbed into the small bed, and David rolled onto his side to embrace her.
"I'm still very weak," he whispered.
Laura smiled. "I can wait. Besides it's daylight. Time to sleep."
He kissed her on the neck on the very spot where he had once bit her. Then he closed his eyes, happy in her embrace. Laura took a while to fall asleep. She kept looking at him. He was really there. It wasn't a dream. Finally with a happy sigh, she fell asleep too.
Laura awoke to David kissing her and moving his way downward under the covers. He found all her ticklish places and more. She giggled. Winds howled outside shaking the house.
Donovan banged on the door. "We've got to get out."
They hurried to dress. As they ran into the living room, Donovan lifted the cooler. The street outside was vacant. A roof flew by.
