She reached the parking lot for the strip mall and her shoes smacked on the pavement. She rushed behind the building and stopped about five feet from the corner. With her back against the building, she waited for the Asian. Her breaths were heavy and she hoped it would give her location away.
The patter of steps grew louder by the second. Katie held still, chewing on her lip. She’d have to act in a split second notice.
The Asian woman appeared from the side and came to a halt. Katie lunged forward and shoved her hands against the woman’s chest. The vamp flew backward, hit the fence and knocked a section down.
“Looking for me?” Katie stepped closer as the vamp got up.
“You have no idea who you’re fucking with.” The vampire’s green eyes blazed. She jerked her jacket off her shoulders and dropped it on the ground. In a blink of an eye, she emptied the sheaths strapped to her forearms and approached with a dagger in each hand. The skinny woman appeared to weigh less than a hundred pounds. Even with the shiny blades she held, the vamp looked as harmless as a string bean.
Katie held her hands together for quick access to the daggers strapped to each forearm. “So tell me, did you cut off Kyle’s head?”
The bitch grinned. “No, my boyfriend, Brandon, insisted on doing it. Ever since I told him I fucked Kyle two centuries ago, he had a hard-on to destroy Kyle.”
The urge to attack boiled in Katie’s veins, yet she held back. “But you were there?”
“I was, yes. I gave him his last kiss before I set him on fire.”
Fury sped Katie’s heart and raised her temperature. The bitch toyed with her emotions, tempting her to take action. Katie held back, for now.
“You may have kissed him, but I was his last fuck. And I’m sure he loved me and filled me more, than he ever did with you.”
The Asian roared as she rushed forward. Katie quickly withdrew her daggers. The woman swung her sharp blades and Katie met each blow with her own weapon. Metal clinked in rapid secession. With each swift move, Katie defended herself exactly how Kyle had trained her.
The vamp made grunts, no doubt surprised by Katie’s strength and defense capabilities. Sweat broke above Katie’s brow from the rage within her, not from the effort warding off the vamp. She let the Asian swing away and waited to see if she’d ever figure out she couldn’t beat Katie. But when minutes of dancing and batting at each other proved the vamp didn’t see her fate, Katie decided to give it to her.
Katie lifted her knee and kicked the Asian woman in the gut. The woman staggered back, but regained her balance fast. She lunged at Katie, swiping her blades furiously. Her typical and predictable moves made Katie wonder where the vamp learned to fight. She kicked the Asian again. This time when the vamp staggered back, Katie charged and swung of one her daggers. The woman spun to avoid contact, but she wasn’t quick enough and Katie’s blade sliced through her arm. The vamp howled as blood spilled down her arm.
“You fucking bitch!”
The Asian attacked again. Blood splattered on Katie from the vamp’s arm. Her stomach recoiled. The last thing she wanted was to have vamp blood on her skin.
With each clash of the metal blades, Katie noticed lighter pressure coming from the Asian’s injured arm. She wondered if she’d torn the vamp’s muscle.
Katie lifted her leg to kick her again. This time, the woman thrust her good arm down. She hit Katie’s knee and a sharp zing vibrated along her leg. Clutching her weapons, Katie threw a punch at the woman’s injured arm. The vamp’s dagger flew from her hand. Katie dropped on her good knee and spun with her tender leg sticking out. She hit the Asian, forcing her to fall on her back.
Katie stepped away, her knee sore from the impact, while the vamp returned to her feet. She switched the dagger to her other hand as if she were ready for another round of sparring.
“You’re a good fighter.” She pointed the sharp end of her blade at Katie.
“I learned from the best.”
“Kyle.”
Katie held her arms at her sides, gripping her weapons. She didn’t respond.
“He was a good teacher. Too bad he won’t be around anymore.”
Katie let her emotion get the better of her. She rushed at the woman. Their blades hit, then the vamp swung her fist and punched Katie in the eye. The blow sent her sideways with pain shooting to her head. She righted herself as the dagger came slashing toward her. She caught it with her weapon and swiped her blade across the vamp’s chest. The Asian wined, but continued swinging her fist and dagger, all of which Katie blocked.
Katie retaliated and managed to slash the vamp on both arms and across her abdomen. The wounds didn’t have an immediate impact on the Asian, but with the more blood she lost, it became apparent Katie had the upper hand.
“You’re a measly human. A maggot on this earth,” the vamp said, showing her fangs. Her pale skin revealed her distress.
“If I’m a maggot, then you’re a leach. I guess neither one of us belong here.”
The woman came at Katie, thrusting kicks first this time. Katie blocked several with her wrists and her sore knee. She’d definitely have a few nasty bruises in the morning. Instead of blocking the next kick, Katie grabbed hold of the woman’s ankle and yanked it. The vamp fell with a loud thump and her head smacked on the pavement. She lay there, unmoving.
Katie didn’t waste time. She pounced on top of the vamp and plunged one of her daggers into the woman’s heart. Blood gushed out of the Asian’s mouth and she choked.
“Fuck you, bitch!” Katie snarled.
Katie jabbed her other dagger into the vamp’s throat. She ground it to the side, severing half the neck. Rage consumed Katie, yet at the same time it filled her with life, happiness and the hope of peace. One headless vampire coming up. She dropped her weapon and grabbed a handful of the woman’s hair. Blood coated her hands. She withdrew her dagger from the woman’s heart, then cut off the rest of the Asian’s head.
Katie stood with her heart racing and breaths heavy. She held a head in one hand and her weapon in the other. A breeze cooled her flesh while she stood over the headless vampire. Thoughts of Kyle emerged and she slowly calmed. He’d trained her to fight his kind with patience and cleverness. She’d followed his teachings, but made one mistake. By letting her emotion come into play, she received a punch to the eye. She should’ve known better and berated herself for her blunder. Riker would undoubtedly have words to say as well once he found out. Lesson learned and she would be more careful in the future, but Kyle was a tender spot in her heart and that organ could only take so much pain.
She looked at the head in her hand and her stomach responded unkindly. The eyes were still open. Gasping, she let go of the head and shook her hand as if she’d burned it.
A vibration from her back pocket made her stiffen. She reached behind and felt her phone. She let it keep buzzing as she suspected the caller was Riker.
She picked up her dagger, stepped to the side of the headless vampire and wiped the bloody blades across her jeans. Riker might come looking for her if she didn’t return to the hotel quickly. But she had a head and body to get rid of. Suddenly aware of a big problem, she stared at the body. She couldn’t burn it. For one, she didn’t have matches or a lighter. Two, it would attract attention. A new dilemma unfolded.
Katie glanced in one direction and then the other. A large blue, steel dumpster sat at the end corner of the ally. As quickly as she could, she hauled the body to the trash bin with her stomach churning along the way. She tossed the dead weight over the rim and it thudded against the metal bin. Hurrying, she snatched the head, daggers and jacket. She threw them in the trash, too. The dumpster solved her problem until she could figure out a way to destroy the vamp’s body.
With no body or weapons in sight and only dark splotches on the pavement, Katie took off running. Joy gave her a surge of energy. So far, the night had been a success. Jules was safe and Katie claimed a piece of revenge. She couldn’t wait to share the good news. A
nd if Riker gave her any trouble, she’d show him a few moves to shut him up.
12
Hot water cleansed the bubbles and filth from Katie’s body. She stood, head tilted down while the spray massaged her shoulders and back. The slight tenderness in her knee had disappeared during her jog back to the hotel. Even her eye felt normal. The wonderful healing magic of vampire blood was one she greatly enjoyed.
The gentle massage tempted her to stay longer, but Jules and Riker were waiting for her. When she had returned in the room, Jules’s wide eyes reflected fear while Riker glared at her with his glowing green eyes. Clearly, he was angry. She had said she’d provide an explanation, but first had to shower.
From the shower, Katie dried her body and then donned the white bathrobe left hanging on the back of the door. She’d rushed into the bathroom after she’d arrived and forgotten to grab a clean set of clothes. The robe would suffice until she could grab fresh attire.
She slid her hand over the steam-coated mirror and her reflection revealed a scary sight. A dark area circled her eye where the Asian had punched her. Brownish bruises coated her wrists and forearms. Her knee had the same dark coloring.
“Shit,” she mumbled softly.
“Ms. Dillinger, if you are done, I’d like to speak with you please,” Riker said from the other side of the closed door. For a change, he sounded pleasant. The tone alarmed her. When did he become Mr. Nice?
“I’m coming.” She made sure the robe concealed her goods and then opened the door.
Cool air greeted her as she stepped from the bathroom. Jules sat in a slouching position at the end of the king-sized bed. She had a Kleenex box beside her and a tissue in her hand. She looked drained and miserable with puffy eyes and a red nose. Upon seeing Katie, she straightened.
Riker walked past Jules and stopped at the desk where his computer laid propped open. With his back turned, Katie couldn’t determine if the vamp was still angry or calm and ready to listen to her story.
As Katie slowly passed by Jules, her friend held out her empty hand. Katie squeezed it and smiled. The small gesture twisted Jules’s lips briefly. Their hands slipped apart, then Katie took a seat at the round table not far from the desk Riker worked at.
Jules stared at Katie. “What happened?”
Riker faced her and crossed his arms. “Do tell, Ms. Dillinger.”
“After you left to get Jules, Amy called me and said there were two people at the Devil matching the description we gave her.”
“Two?” Jules asked with wide eyes.
“A man who had the same description as the one Ben gave me, and a woman.”
“Really?” Riker said as if the notion of a female vamp in town had impressed him.
“So I left to check them out. The man had left by the time I arrived, but the woman was still at the bar.”
“Given your current state of appearance, I’m assuming she’s no longer in existence.”
Katie grinned. “Her head and body are in a dumpster behind the strip mall near the Devil. I didn’t know what to do with them and I was hoping you might be able to help me get rid of her remains.”
“You destroyed a female vampire?” Jules asked, surprised. “How?”
Riker sat down in the chair next to Katie. In his dark pants and t-shirt, he actually looked a bit attractive. His shoulder length hair fell forward as he leaned over his knees.
“I’d very much like to know how, too. And how did you manage to make it two miles up the road and back so fast?”
Katie inhaled a long breath as she prepared her statement. Based on Riker’s sharp gaze boring through her, she suspected he knew the answer.
“Kyle gave me a small vial of his blood to carry with me in case of an emergency.”
Riker shook his head.
“You drank vampire blood?” Jules asked with her lip curled in disgust.
“It’s not the first time, well, actually it is the first time I drank it. The other times he injected it into my vein with a syringe.”
Jules raised her hand to her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Think about it Jules. Kyle taught me for years how to fight. He was stronger and faster. How could I ever compete with him?”
“You never said–”
“I didn’t think I needed to.”
Jules lowered her eyes. “I guess I blocked out that part. When you said you were getting help the other day, I assumed the person working with you would handle destroying the vampire.”
“So we have two days,” Riker said.
Katie gave a slow nod. “Maybe three.”
“Two days for what?” Jules asked, her gaze jumping from Katie to Riker, then back to Katie.
“Two days before my strength is gone and the side effects kick in.” A time she dreaded. In the past, Kyle talked to her, fixed her food, tried to feed her and gave her hot baths. He performed as a perfect, loving caretaker. Now that he was gone, she’d have to suffer through the withdraw pain alone.
“There are side effects to drinking vampire blood?” Jules asked.
Riker leaned back in the chair and held his hands together in his lap. He glared at Katie.
“What?”
“She’s knows too much.”
“She’s known about Kyle for years. She doesn’t have all the knowledge and details because there was no need to tell her everything before.”
“There is no need now.”
Frustration warmed Katie’s blood. “I disagree. Her boyfriend is missing and a vampire is still out there.”
“What value would this information have for her?”
Katie frowned at his attitude. Although it had little value to Jules, she should at least know what to expect from Katie when the blood ran its course through her system.
She turned to Jules without replying to Riker. “Vampire blood makes a human stronger, faster and full of energy. Think of it as super vitamins multiplied by a thousand. The fluid also has healing abilities.”
“But?” Jules prompted.
“After the body has consumed all the vampire nutrients, it craves more in the worst way. Think of a junkie having been addicted for twenty years and has suddenly stopped taking their drug of choice.”
“You mean you get sick. You vomit, sweat…”
“Yes, but worse. It’s painful and takes a few days, sometimes a week to recover depending on the dosage ingested.”
“And you’ve done this before?”
Katie glanced at Riker. He lifted his brow. Clearly, he wanted to hear her explanation as much as Jules.
“Kyle warned me what would happen before I took his blood for the first time. He even tried to persuade me not to. I wanted to learn, to be a good fighter, to prove to him I could…beat him, but not in a sense of conquering him. I wanted to prove to myself I could defeat a vampire and show him his time and effort was never wasted.”
“Interesting psychology,” Riker said.
“Can it kill you?”
“The withdraw symptoms can’t kill you, but ingesting too much vampire blood can. There’s a fine line.”
“You knew it could kill you and took it anyway.” A hint of anger flavored her tone.
“Kyle estimated the dosage and decreased it some. I never took more than three vials in one night.”
“Wow.” Jules stared with wide eyes. “You’re like the female version of Rambo.”
“Something like that.”
“I’m glad you’re my friend.”
Katie chuckled and glanced at Riker. His stone face lacked the humor she found in Jules’s comment.
“Please tell me you’re not going to grow fangs or try and bite me.”
“No, dear. No chance of that.”
“Good. ‘Cause I can’t handle losing you.”
“I’m the same person I’ve always been. I’m not going to change,” Katie said with a smile.
“You mentioned the male vampire–”
“Did you see Joe at the Devil?�
� Jules asked excitedly, interrupting Riker.
Katie looked from Riker to Jules. Riker rolled his eyes.
“Did you?” Jules asked.
“No, he wasn’t there.”
“Damn.” She hit her knee with edge of her balled hand. “Where could he be?”
Riker jerked forward. “You said the male vampire had left before you arrived.”
“Yes. I never saw him.”
“Then you don’t know if Joe was there.”
“We could call Amy and ask, but they were really busy when I got there. I’m not certain she would have noticed him.”
“We should try,” Jules said. “I called a few more times and his phone was still off.”
“If Joe was there with the other vampire, he won’t last the night.”
Katie shot a death glare at Riker. His insensitivity to the matter made her want to slap him across the face. Her best friend worried for her boyfriend and he just sealed the coffin on him. “You’re an asshole.”
“What? What do you mean he won’t last the night?” Jules asked in a panicky tone.
He faced Jules with a cold, emotionless face. “The vampire is looking for Katie. Now that he has your boyfriend, he will use him for information. Joe will lead him to your house. When he can’t find you or Katie, he’ll call and try to bargain. But first–”
“So Joe will be okay?” Jules asked, hopeful.
“Don’t count on it. Vampires typically keep the mortals within an inch of their life, and that’s only until they get what they want.”
“Oh, God,” Jules squealed as the tears streamed down her cheeks.
“This vampire will try to contact his girlfriend after he can’t find you or Katie. Once he discovers she is missing, I’m sure he won’t waste time with Joe.”
Katie stiffened at the thought. She hadn’t considered what kind of response her actions would bring. Yet, it made sense. The vamp would figure out something happened to his girlfriend, then he would take revenge on Joe.
Immortal Revenge Page 12
