Perpetual Creatures, Volumes 1-3: A Vampire and Ghost Thriller Series

by Gabriel Beyers

  The silence continued to the point that he doubted his senses. If he didn’t have hold of Beth’s hand, he might’ve convinced himself that he had blacked out from a concussion.

  “Beth,” he said, but before he could utter another word, his chest constricted, pressing every bit of breath from his lungs. Beth screamed in fright. He tried to tighten his grasp on her, but before he blacked out, the telekinetic hand squeezing the life from him, jerked him violently away from her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It was early in the evening. The Hunters had all gone out to feed one last time before leaving. Ming and Ralgar, having different tastes in victims, had gone separate directions. Celeste and Taos had silently slipped off together. The past couple of nights, they had taken to feeding as a pair, then no doubt finishing off the night by drinking from each other. Jerusa didn’t know if Ming and Ralgar suspected anything, but if they did, they kept it hidden well. Maybe Celeste was using her powers to blind them to that as well.

  She had to hand it to the augur. No one had questioned her motivation for wearing sunglasses and lipstick. They accepted her lame excuse of wanting to be more human as the uncontested truth. Ming and Ralgar suspected something on a subconscious level, but they were too distracted to press the issue.

  Instead of hunting like she was supposed to, Jerusa went to the place she had last seen the three vampire women. That was three nights ago, and she had come back every night, hoping they would return. No such luck. Why were they following her? They obviously wanted Jerusa to see them that night. What did they want from her?

  Jerusa slipped into the middle of a copse of trees, burying herself in a tangle of bushes, vines and other wild-growing plants. Alicia appeared without being called. She understood the pain and pangs racking Jerusa’s body. The vampire latched onto the ghost and fed. This mysterious process had begun to lose potency, leaving her still a little bloodthirsty. Jerusa didn’t know what would happen when it stopped completely. How would Alicia keep her from feeding? Though the ghost could touch her, even inflict pain to snap her out of a blood frenzy, there might come a day when even that will not keep at bay the ravenous beast within.

  She waited as long as she could for the three women, but they didn’t return. As Jerusa lumbered her way back to the coven house, Celeste and Taos met her. Celeste’s cheeks were flushed (probably from swapping blood with Taos), and her eyes glimmered in the light emanating from the house.

  “There’s something we need to tell you,” Celeste said in a hushed tone.

  Taos hurried up behind Celeste, towering over her like some mythical Viking god protector. Her blood had worked wonders for him, leaving no sign of the terrible burns he suffered. His long, blond hair lay loose upon his shoulders, blowing in the wind, and he was as handsome and perfect as he had ever been.

  Jerusa wasn’t in the mood to hear a confession about their vampire make-out sessions. “Look, what you guys do in private is your own business.” Celeste looked shocked, her cheeks blushing a deeper shade of red. Taos cast a few awkward glances at Jerusa but wouldn’t make eye contact.

  “No, no. Not that,” Celeste said, waving her hands. “I mean, we wanted to talk to you about that, but… Well…” She looked as though the thoughts in her head were racing laps around her brain. “Look, it’s about tonight. We’re meeting up with Trevor and the rest of Midnight Fire.”

  Jerusa wanted to gag every time she heard the stupid names the Hunters gave their teams. “I know that. So what?” She didn’t mean to be so curt with Celeste, yet she didn’t apologize.

  “I received a message from the Watchtower.” Fear swam in Celeste’s big doe eyes. “Something is happening. I’m not sure what. They want us to hold off hunting for Suhail until further notice. They are sending us on another errand.”

  Jerusa looked to Taos, who had an angry sneer curled on his face. “They’re sending us after other vampires, aren’t they?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Celeste said. “It’s not uncommon for us to hunt other vampires.” Shame swept across her face, and she made no effort to hide this. “But I’m not sure why they are pulling the Crimson Storm and the Midnight Fire off of searching for Suhail to search for undesirable vampires.”

  Jerusa stifled a laugh. She was an undesirable vampire, too. “What do you think it means?”

  “Maybe the Stewards are tired of waiting for us to deliver Suhail,” Taos said. “They’re not exactly a patient bunch.”

  “I’m trying.” Her words came out sharp. She breathed deep. It wasn’t Taos’s or Celeste’s fault. “Alicia and the others can’t find him. Or they won’t. I’m not sure anymore.” She was so tired. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and let them cover her with ten tons of earth.

  “I don’t think it’s that,” Celeste said. “If they decided you were no longer useful, they would…” She trailed off. No one finished her sentence. They all knew the ending.

  “These vampires we’re hunting,” Jerusa said, changing the subject. “Will we have to kill them?”

  Celeste frowned. “Most likely.”

  “That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Taos said. He looked around as if the words he was searching for might be on the ground, hidden in the piles of scree and derelict scrub bushes. “Ever since the day I was turned, I’ve always fed on whomever crossed my path. Women…children. It didn’t matter if they were good or bad. I killed them all. I’m not proud of that. Not anymore. What happened back in Sheol, with the two humans you saved… We just wanted you to know that we’re sorry. And it won’t happen again.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Those people didn’t deserve to die,” Celeste said. “Not like that. We’ve all done terrible things, killed the innocent. Except for you.” Jerusa tried to say I would too, if I could, but Celeste cut her off. “We can’t promise never to kill again. We have to feed, and we can’t risk leaving our victims alive and infected, but never again will we kill the innocent.”

  Their gesture was heartwarming, but misplaced. They thought her more noble, more altruistic than she really was. Jerusa was a vampire, same as they were. If Alicia would let her, Jerusa just might slaughter a whole orphanage, nuns and all, to quench the molten pain flowing through her veins. “What if Ming orders you to kill an innocent again.”

  “No,” Taos said.

  “Never again,” Celeste said at the same time.

  She searched their eyes and saw the conviction of their words. It was they who were the noble ones. They who should be emulated. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  Ming and Ralgar walked out of the house. The vampires of the coven remained inside, looking very relieved to have their guests moving on. “It’s time to go,” Ming said as she headed toward a rented black Escalade with dark tinted windows. “We have a two-hour drive ahead of us, and we don’t want to be late.”

  Taos and Celeste turned to go, but Jerusa stopped them.

  “The vampires that you’ve hunted in the past. Were they all innocent, or did some of them deserve to die?”

  “A great number of them were too violent or dangerous to live,” Celeste said. “Ugly creatures, not on the outside like the Stewards judge, but in their souls. Power such as ours shouldn’t rest in those with unstable minds. There’s too much of that already. But many didn’t deserve their fate, and I’m afraid that one day I’ll have to answer for that.”

  “You know the difference, though. That has to count for something.” Jerusa’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll be real scumbags.”

  Celeste gave a wry smile. “I hope so.”

  The older vampires refused to drive. They said it was due to their rank, but Jerusa knew that they had never fully come to terms with modern technology. Ralgar suggested that Jerusa drive. It wasn’t that she had a problem with driving. She could maneuver a car quite well. But if a pang of thirst happened to strike her while she was behind the wheel, it could cause a serious problem. It w
as hard enough to suppress and hide them while standing still.

  Ming threw the keys to the Escalade at her, but Taos snatched them out of the air. “I’ll drive,” he said, never slowing up for the SUV. Ming gave him a questioning sneer. “What? Everyone knows I’m the best driver. If you want to get there late, let Jerusa drive. If you want to get there with a little time to plan this thing out, you better let me drive.” He winked at Jerusa. Ming didn’t like it when people went against her word, even for small things, but she didn’t argue.

  Taos was true to his word, driving the two-hour trip into the city in just under an hour and thirty-eight minutes. It was a good thing too, because the ride had been filled with nothing but awkward silence. After a year of hunting together, you would think that Ming and Ralgar could muster up a little idle chit-chat for the rest of them. But they were the antithesis of raconteurs.

  Jerusa didn’t know the name of this city, didn’t even know if they were still in New Mexico. Frankly, she didn’t care. Her whole body throbbed in pain. The blood in her veins felt thick, like wet sand. Her fangs had developed a terrible phantom itch. A need to pierce flesh and draw blood. It took a concentrated effort for her not to bite her own wrist. She needed to escape for just a moment so that she could feed from Alicia.

  Celeste leaned forward between the seats and began guiding Taos through the streets of the city. Who needed GPS when you had an augur homing in on the telepathic signal of another augur? Celeste led them to a parking garage in a more abandoned part of the city. They pulled to the upper most level where Trevor and his team were waiting.

  “It’s about time,” Trevor said as they exited the Escalade. The members of Midnight Fire stood in a line, the hoods of their leather dusters pulled up.

  “Whatever man,” Taos said, his bravado in full swing. “You know we’re early. You’re just mad because we interrupted your little pep talk. Are you done begging your team to step up their game? It’s all right Midnight Fire, you don’t have to be frightened. Crimson Storm is here to protect you.”

  Two of Trevor’s team started for Taos, but Trevor halted them. There was something magical and surreal about seeing a vampire taunt another vampire, as though they were rival athletes. Even Ming managed a smile. Celeste’s blood had really lit a fire in Taos. He was back to his old self, minus the ruthless cruelty, but his narcissistic confidence had come back with a vengeance.

  Trevor gave a forced smile. “Oh Taos, if only your skills with fire were as honed as your gift for running your mouth.” In times past, such a statement would have brought Taos out swinging, but he laughed it off instead. “The rendezvous point is two miles further into town. Washington will fill you in on the details.”

  Washington, the Midnight Fire’s augur, stepped forward. He was a tall, thin black man with pockmarked skin, and a large bald spot. “According to the Watchtower, a group of four undesirables have been feeding in this area for the past several nights. They have taken refuge in an abandoned warehouse north of here. They are not believed to be native to the area. It is unknown if they are passing through or mean to make this their hunting ground, but all four have been condemned, unless otherwise decided by Trevor and Ming.”

  “Let’s attempt to have our two teams work together,” Trevor said. “See if you can’t keep the fledgling reined in, Ming.” Ming didn’t dignify that with an answer. Trevor looked at Jerusa as if for the first time, studying her face with a look of disdain. “What’s with the sunglasses and lipstick? Plan on slumming with the humans when we’re done?”

  Jerusa stumbled over her words, glancing nervously over at Celeste.

  “Quit stalling, Trevor,” Ming said. “The sooner we finish this busy work, the sooner we can not be around each other anymore.”

  “My mistake,” Trevor said. “I was simply waiting for the rest of your team to arrive. Or is Shufah too busy and important to help with such mundane tasks. I know this kind of work is a stink to her sensitive nose, but being a Hunter isn’t all glamor, is it.”

  Jerusa suddenly wished to be the center of discussion again. Finding new ways to hide Shufah’s absence was growing more difficult by the day. Ming stared at Trevor, and he back at her, neither willing to even blink.

  “Shufah isn’t a Hunter,” Ralgar said, surprising everyone, possibly even himself. “We’re only dispatching undesirables, not hunting Suhail. She is under no obligation to join us. Her business is her own. I suggest we tend to ours.”

  Jerusa had never seen anything but belligerent hatred from Ralgar, especially concerning free vampires like Shufah. Watching him defend her, lying to his fellow Hunters, was like a glass of ice cold water to the face: refreshing, yet more than a little painful. Granted, his life was on the line just as much as the rest of them. The Crimson Storm had sworn to Marjek to protect Shufah and deliver her again to the Ice Sanctuary. She suspected that Ralgar wasn’t near as concerned with rescuing Shufah from the Light Bearers as he was saving his own neck. Plus, he wanted a little payback on the umbilicus for killing Quinn and Mikael. Jerusa could respect that part. She wanted vengeance for her mother.

  “On to business then,” Trevor said. “We can make most of the journey upon the rooftops. Steer clear of densely populated areas. When we reach the warehouse, no one moves until it is confirmed that all the vampires have arrived.” They all nodded that they understood. “All right. Let’s go.”

  The Midnight Fire ran to the edge of the parking garage and leapt to the roof of the next building. Ming motioned for the Crimson Storm to follow, but Ralgar halted her.

  “Why are we following orders from him? Why are they taking the lead?”

  “Because we were told to,” Ming said. “It’s a pointless mission. Pay it no mind. We have a more honorable destiny, and greater foes to vanquish. Come on. If we fall behind, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

  The two groups of vampires rushed through the night, leaping from building to building, and climbing walls like a swarm of insects. The city was well lit, but they stayed in the shadows for the most part. They moved with preternatural speed, so even if a human did spot them, they’d be gone before the mortal had a chance to get a second glance. They covered the distance in mere minutes, slowing their speed as they drew closer. A block away from the warehouse, the two teams divided, one covering the northern corner, the other the southern.

  At this point, Celeste stepped forward to lead the charge. She and Washington used their arcane gift to not only sense the undesirable vampires inside the warehouse, but to stay in silent contact with each other. Celeste eased the team forward. Ming raised her hand, clenched her fist, and immediately, the street lamp illuminating the rotten asphalt near the warehouse exploded with a pop.

  Suddenly, Celeste stopped and went ridged, almost as though a faint noise had caught her attention.

  “What is it?” Ming whispered.

  “I’m not sure.” Celeste scanned the surrounding buildings. “I can feel the four vampires inside the warehouse, along with a human. But for just a second there, I sensed a fifth vampire. Not in there, but out here, with us. Washington felt it, too, but now it’s gone.”

  They searched the darkness, but there was nothing to see. Alicia and Foster appeared. They circled around Jerusa with their backs toward her, their faces out to the night. “What is it,” she asked. She knew they couldn’t answer, but they didn’t even attempt to communicate.

  “What now?” Ming asked.

  “Something’s wrong. Alicia and Foster are acting strange.” The mob of ghosts appeared, looking anxious and perturbed. Alicia motioned for them to fan out and the little army of spirits obeyed, searching every building and hidden spot for whatever was lurking out there. All the spirits except one.

  The ghost she called the Acolyte stood with a sort of maniacal grin resting upon his face and joy bordering on madness in his eyes. She had only seen the Acolyte one time while he was a living vampire. The High Council had destroyed him without mercy while she hid in the room. His
spirit had continued with her ever since, but always before, he had been melancholy and morose, which had only grown worse when she joined up with the Crimson Storm. Of late, he had taken to flashing her rude hand gestures. He had no love of Hunters, and she couldn’t blame him for that, but most of the spirits following her had been killed by either the Hunters or the Stewards. Now, however, the Acolyte seemed almost giddy, as if he might explode with rapture and break out into dance at any moment. Alicia motioned once again for him to join the search. The smile slid from his face and he vanished.

  “We need to go,” Celeste said with a hint of urgency. “Midnight Fire is moving in.”

  The five of them fanned out, covering both the northeast and northwest walls. There was a man-sized door in the northwest wall, and several windows circled the building, though all of them were twenty feet up. The walls were fabricated metal and gave very little in the way of grip holds. Jerusa was just about to back up to get a running start so that she could leap through the window when, suddenly, the ground fell away beneath her. She rose into the air, but the sensation of solid ground remained beneath her feet.

  Ming stood at the corner of the building, her arms outstretched, palms up. She didn’t even strain as her telekinetic hand lifted Jerusa toward the high windows. Ming raised her to just below the ledge. When Jerusa grabbed on, the telekinetic hold on her vanished. She dangled on the ledge, waiting for Celeste’s signal to enter.

  Jerusa placed one foot on the wall, preparing to thrust herself up and through the window. The frame around the window was loose, wobbled in place, probably knocked loose by a storm. She tried to adjust her grip, but the more she moved, the more rickety the frame became. There was a small groan of old nails bending, then the frame broke free. Jerusa held her breath, not for fear of the fall—twenty feet would barely jar her—but because the noise of her sliding down the wall would alert the vampires inside.