Blood Reign

by Harvey W. McCarthy

  Larry and David had enjoyed another fine meal as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Chris, who had also enjoyed his meal, sat quietly as he stared at an e-book reader. David knew that Chris would either need to be sedated or entertained on the long transatlantic flight. He sent out a request to any council member in the area to purchase an e-book reader and to meet them at the airport. During the first hour of their flight, Chris was distracted by an intense conversation with Larry who grilled him about his recent exploits, while David uploaded several graphic novels. His plan had worked as Chris was highly entertained and, more importantly, quiet.

  Larry tapped away at his netbook that the council had provided. His reading glasses were at the tip of his nose. He glanced over them occasionally to see how their vampire hunter was handling the flight. He was still completely absorbed in the graphic novel collection that David had purchased for him. He then turned his attention to David who was working on his netbook. He was proud of his colleague who still worked hard despite his apprehensions regarding Chris. He had worked several miracles to get them on this flight. He also noticed that his rapid pounding of the keys was not as audible as it had been when they were in the motel room. He had hopefully calmed down slightly.

  "What are you working on?" Larry asked.

  "I'm trying to decipher these reports from the council," he said.

  "Decipher?" Larry inquired.

  "Yeah," David said as he rubbed his chin and grimaced, "It appears that they are using a new encryption code. It isn't in any of the directories. It's a completely different code."

  "Interesting," Larry said.

  "Very interesting," David added. "It is as if they don't want the rest of us reading any of their recent council meeting transcripts."

  Larry took a turn at scratching his chin. "That would be a first. Usually the council is extremely forthcoming with information."

  David let out a fake cough. Larry cocked an eyebrow.

  "You disagree?"

  "Yes, I do. Our friend is one of the greatest secrets that they have kept for five hundred years."

  "Actually, the majority of the council leadership knows of his existence and his unusual situation."

  "Larry, it still makes me wonder what they are not telling us. Why did they suddenly create a new encryption code without sending out any notice of it?" David asked.

  Larry smiled and he adjusted his glasses. "Like any war, they probably are assuming that the vampires are monitoring our communications just like we are monitoring theirs. I am going to assume that they have learned that the vampires had cracked one of our encryption codes. They suddenly changed it to get their information to those who absolutely needed it without allowing it to be read by the vampires."

  "I wish that I could be so confident," David said.

  Larry smiled softly. "Hey, you're still trying to help for which I applaud you. I know that you've had a tough time during the last few weeks."

  David sighed. "I have a job to do. Like many people, I don't like everything that I do or agree with everything that is going on, but I cannot stop fighting and working."

  "Good," Larry said. "Now, since you have been working so hard, tell me what you do know."

  "I'd like to know also," Chris said as he walked behind Larry's seat and leaned on the backrest.

  Both men paused. David stared at the vampire hunter. Larry's jaw dropped and he slowly turned to face his friend. Chris glanced back and forth between both men. David opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Larry continued to stare. Complete disbelief defined their expressions.

  "What," Chris asked, "I can't be in the loop anymore?"

  "You are walking around," David said.

  "Yeah, I had to go to the restroom. I heard you two talking about council communications and I wanted to see if there are any updates before I returned to my book," he said matter-of-factly.

  "But, you're on a…"

  Larry grabbed David by the wrist and shook his head. Apparently, Chris had become so absorbed in the books that David had provided that he had forgotten that he was on a plane. David nodded and smiled at Chris.

  "I'm on a what?" Chris asked.

  Larry cleared his throat. "He meant that you were on such a roll with your reading. Usually, you ignore bathroom breaks and keep going."

  "Well, this time I got to the point that my back teeth were about to float away. Tell me what is going on before I get back to my reading. I am really enjoying the classic Green Lantern collection that you got for me. Thanks," Chris said cheerfully.

  "You're welcome," David said.

  Larry nodded his approval. David was working very hard at being a team player. "Our resident computer expert was just about to tell us what he knows about recent council events."

  "Good," Chris said.

  David cleared his throat and double-checked his notes. "Well, it appears that the council has gone on the offensive."

  "Care to explain?" Chris asked.

  "They have been able to intercept a lot of vampire communications. Locations of several small vampire nests have been discovered all across Europe. Warriors have been sent to those areas to clear out those nests and to limit their numbers. With their numbers limited, nighttime attacks are less numerous."

  Larry nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

  "I don't like it," Chris said.

  "Why? Less vampire attacks means more lives are saved," David retorted.

  "Yes, I like the lives being saved but there is more to it," Chris responded.

  "How?"

  Larry glanced back at his friend. "Are you looking at a bigger picture?"

  "Yes. David, can you tell me how recently that these increased warrior movements began?" Chris asked.

  David's fingers rapidly clicked the keyboard. He grimaced as his search was denied. "Interesting," he said.

  "Interesting?" Larry asked.

  David rubbed his fingers through his hair as his frustrations were increasing. "Yeah, when I used my passwords and administrative privileges to search our recent warrior movements, they came back classified."

  "Classified?" Chris asked. "How are we supposed to track our warriors if we need support?"

  Larry chuckled sarcastically. "I was thinking the same thing."

  "Apparently, they are hiding something. Give me a minute; I might be able to get around this."

  "Go ahead," Chris said as he adjusted his arms on the back of Larry's seat.

  David resumed his keyboard entries. A small bead of sweat formed on his brow as his typing speed increased. The computer beeped several times as his requests were denied. He mumbled inaudible curses as his frustration had begat anger. Several minutes passed before he smiled.

  "I'm in," David said.

  "And?"

  David entered another series of searches as he rubbed his head. His eyes widened as all of his search requests were completed.

  "Well, apparently, our warriors are being moved away from the major cities. London, Paris, and Berlin all have had warrior requests for smaller towns and cities away from their immediate area," David responded.

  Larry sighed heavily. "She's apparently narrowed down where the last tomes are located and she's feeding them information to lure them away."

  David continued to enter search criteria. His search returned more information. "Sorry, I was mistaken. Troops from London are being called into the city. Apparently, the request came within the last twenty-four hours to supplement a major offensive regarding the queen."

  "The attack that they are planning," Larry stated.

  "I don't like it," Chris said.

  "Why?" David asked as he looked up from his computer.

  "Haven't we covered this?" Larry asked sarcastically. "Care to explain before we sound like an episode of The Three Stooges?"

  Chris stood and began to pace. "Is our vampire queen stupid?"

  "Never sat down and had a serious one-on-one conversation with her," David said sarcastically.

  Chris shot him
a nasty glance. "Serious for a second."

  "No," David admitted, "She seems to be highly intelligent. She always appears to be three or four steps ahead…"

  His voice trailed off as he stared directly at Larry who glanced at his watch. After checking the time and converting it to London local time, his face turned pale.

  "Are you thinking what I think that you're thinking?" Larry asked Chris.

  "It's a trap."

  "That's what I thought you were thinking," Larry said.

  "How do you know?" David asked.

  "We know too much. It's too easy. According to what you've read, all the pieces are in place for us to win this war. Kill the queen who is relatively unguarded. However, to do so, all our available troops are being pulled away to a remote location for this attack."

  "While we leave our flanks open," Larry said.

  "With our flanks open and we are unsuccessful, she can counterattack," David said.

  Larry looked directly at David. "Get them on the line. I don't care how you do it, but we have to talk to them."

  David furiously opened every communication channel that the council had available. All channels were blocked. Suddenly, his program flickered and the screen went blank. He valiantly tried to reestablish their link to council servers but all of his repeated requests were denied.

  "I'm locked out," David said.

  "Fuck!" Chris said.

  Both men were shocked. They had never heard him utter a curse.

  "Whoa," David said, "That's new."

  Chris shook his head. "Larry, what time is it?"

  Larry looked at his watch again and his face lost all of its remaining color. He had miscalculated the time. "I think I know what you can't establish any connections," he said to David.

  "Why?"

  "The battle has begun," Larry said.

  "And the vampires aren't there, are they?"

  "No," Chris replied, "But I know where they are."

  He prayed that he was wrong, but he knew that he wasn't.

  * * *

  A fleet of vans and buses had rolled through the streets of various English towns and cities. They splashed their way through back country roads. Lightning lit the night sky. The heavens had opened up as if it were some ominous prophecy from above. The all-black vehicles wound their way through the English countryside. They came from all directions to limit any suspicion. The dark-tinted windows hid the rows of warriors waiting to do battle. Within the next few minutes, they would all arrive at a remote countryside location and their war, which had raged for centuries, would continue.

  General Scott glanced at the blackened, stoic faces that lined the many seats of his bus. They were a mixed group of men and women from various backgrounds. Some were professional soldiers whose military leaders knew of the secret underground war that was being waged against the vampires. Others, numerous others within the ranks of the council, were doctors, lawyers, accountants, professional athletes and even those unfortunate souls who were without an occupation or even a home. Many of them were volunteers who lived amongst the less fortunate to protect them from the undead predators that hunted after nightfall. They all had one thing in common: They were focused. Their eyes stared straight ahead. They were prepared to die for their cause. He was proud of them.

  Like his fellow warriors, he was dressed in black. Unlike the warriors of centuries ago who wore shining armor and wielded heavy, ornate swords, these modern warriors wore skintight outfits. They looked more like an army of thieves than an army of soldiers. Their uniforms were designed to blend into the night to give them a chance against their physically superior opponents. The dark Kevlar body armor was designed to help protect them against their own flying projectiles as much as it was to shield them against a vampire strike. Also, it blended perfectly with the black military fatigues that they wore. Crosses, vials of holy water, and stakes lined their belts. The fortunate few to have been trained with crossbows had those ancient weapons, which featured modern modifications, resting on their laps. They were ready to strike. For General Scott, the moment was at hand.

  He released his seatbelt and stood. He glanced at each warrior. There were seventy warriors on his bus. They were part of the ancient calling that had trained with Bloodheart during the American Revolutionary War. They were the council's finest warriors. They would be the deciding factor in this batlle. As he glanced at each warrior, he made eye contact. They all nodded. He smiled.

  "Warriors," he said proudly. "Tonight, victory is at hand. The vampire queen who has killed our fellow warriors and harassed humanity for centuries will do so no more. By killing her, their hierarchy will be thrown into chaos. Vampires will start their own civil war to take control of the many factions that she was able to unite. Tonight that reign of bloodshed and terror ends."

  The warriors began to hoot and holler as the bus turned onto the road that led to the mansion on the hill. General Scott held up his hand and they immediately became silent. The bus stopped briefly as a warrior from a van at the front of the now united convoy leapt out. He quickly connected his computer into the security system and the main gate parted. He motioned them through which was the signal that he had already overridden their security system. The bus began to roll again.

  General Scott resumed his speech. "Archers, form a defensive perimeter around the fence line. Do not let any vampires escape. The rest of you will form groups of four as you will be on the frontlines. Some of you will perish, but…"

  "…the light will be our salvation," they said in unison.

  The bus stopped. They all stood. As if they were in an emergency drill, the warriors to the back half of the bus departed through the backdoor. The remainder poured through the front door and into the vast courtyard. General Scott blessed himself as he departed from the bus. His warriors had already begun progressing across the vast, tree covered courtyard.

  The dark dressed warriors moved stealthily through the forest that covered the courtyard. The large mansion had several large windows. Archers were told not to fire on any figures in the windows until their troops had breached the front doors. They watched and waited patiently as their soldiers continued towards the house. General Scott, who was not as young as many of his warriors, labored for breath as he struggled to keep up the rigorous pace. Maybe Bloodheart should have led this mission, he thought until the first vampire came within his view. Then again…

  He raised his miniature crossbow and fired. The wooden bolt, which he had blessed, sprung from his outstretched arm. It flew through the air and hit the vampire in the chest. Blood oozed from the wound. The male vampire clutched at his chest but his fate was sealed. General Scott's aim had been true and the small wooden stake had pierced his heart. He dropped to his knees as his body began to rapidly decay. General Scott reloaded his weapon and passed by the putrid corpse.

  The warriors broke into a full battle cry as they made their way up the main steps. They crashed through the front doors and the battle was on. They quickly killed the few vampires that stood guard at the doors. Vampires screamed as wooden stakes plunged into their chests and holy water ate their skin like caustic acid. General Scott continued to smile as another crossbow bolt hit its target. A vampire fell from a balcony window and began to disintegrate as it tumbled to the garden below.

  "LET NONE OF THEM LIVE!" he cried as he ran up the main steps and into the mansion.

  Battles were everywhere. His warriors fought and died. However, they vastly outnumbered their undead foes. General Scott struck a vampire in the chest with a stake and dropped another one with a well-placed crossbow bolt. His heart raced as his plan had worked to perfection. They had caught them completely by surprise. Vampires were dying everywhere. If they fled, they were dropped instantly by one of their archers. Now, they had to find the queen.

  A warrior approached. He pressed his receiver to his ear and listened. He smiled.

  "Report," General Scott ordered.

  "One of our teams has found and
secured the path to their underground lair. One of the vampires guarding it was overheard saying that they had to get below and warn the queen," the warrior said.

  General Scott smiled. "Lead on. WARRIORS FOLLOW ME!" he bellowed.