The Glass Vampire

by David Page

  Monteford. Richard’s addled mind searched for the name. It sounded familiar to him, but he could not place it. Still, he felt as if he should know where that was.

  She retrieved her cloak from the peg by the window, wrapped herself in it and opened the door. She turned back to face him, her eyes pouring into his soul.

  “Wait, don’t go.” He tried to rise, but found that he lacked the strength.

  ***

  “Don’t go where?” Beth asked.

  Richard blinked and found himself back in the park, the passion of memory still lingering in his mind. “I… I’m sorry, I got lost in the picture.”

  She laughed softly. “I’ll say. You spaced out there for an entire minute.”

  “Did I?” Richard held up his hands in front of him. The woman in red flashed through his mind again, disappearing quickly back into his lost memories. Slowly, her story was unfolding in the form of a past he had forgotten. He could feel her there in his mind, waiting, watching…for something he could not fathom. He had no idea what Beth could be doing to cause the flashbacks, but he knew that she was somehow involved, just as he knew that a greater truth waited to be revealed.

  “So,” she said finally. “You ready to trust me?”

  He found it interesting that she had said 'me' instead of 'us' or 'Vincent Radovan.' She did have a personal stake in this, whatever that meant. It might be something he could use to his advantage. He filed it away for the moment as he remembered that time for him was running out. Frederick's poison was already working on him.

  “Yes. There is a condition, however." Beyond having no choice, something told him that the key to his salvation lay with Beth and the memories of the woman in red that she seemed to evoke.

  "I thought there might be." Beth smirked.

  Richard pulled a well-practiced mask of stoicism across his face. "I want to see your operation and I want to meet the man in charge. I want to meet Vincent Radovan."

  The breeze blew her dark bangs into her face. She brushed them aside, trying her best to look serious and commanding, but somehow seeming suddenly shy and frail.

  "I'm not sure that my people-"

  Richard put up one hand. "They'll agree to my terms. We are talking about quite a large sum of money."

  "We told you we would protect you. You'll have free run of the lab area as soon as we get the money. As to meeting Vincent, I don't know if that's possible. I haven't even met him."

  "If I am to take this risk for you-"

  "You mean with me. We've got a lot to lose too, you know. If any of us are caught, I doubt we’ll ever see the inside of a courthouse or a jail. The Department will make us disappear." She rubbed her arms as if chilled.

  "True." Richard acquiesced. "I acknowledge our shared risks; however, I need to know exactly who I am working for. It is not negotiable."

  She paused to study him for a moment, tilting her head to the side and frowning.

  "I guess I can't really blame you for that. All right. It’s a deal."

  11

  "What is this place?" Richard brushed away a large cluster of cobwebs that hung down from a cracked support beam in front of him.

  With only Beth's flashlight to illuminate their path it was hard to make out details in the worn tunnel, but he could see the different shapes of the rocks that had been thrown haphazardly together to form the walls. The shoddy construction reminded him of the catacombs he had seen in Rome during the Renaissance, minus the mummified corpses. He had not known such passages existed in so new a city. Despite the lack of the dead, there was heaviness to the dank air, as if the weight of all the woes of the city pressed down on them.

  He had been forced to live in tunnels and other dark places for the better part of a thousand years and in that time he had never been completely comfortable knowing that what was above could easily collapse such a tunnel, burying him alive for all eternity. He shivered, momentarily distracted from his plight, his purpose, and the grim task to which Frederick had set him.

  Beth continued forwards, her leather boots echoing on the cement floor. Not the best footwear for stealthy movement, Richard thought.

  "It's the Seattle Underground." She said it as if it was supposed to mean something to him.

  It didn’t.

  He sighed, quickening his pace to keep up. After leaving the park, she had led him into Pioneer Square, Seattle’s oldest surviving district and down into this tunnel. As he followed, he wondered at the identity of Vincent Radovan. He had only her word that whomever he would meet would be the actual person. The real question plaguing him was; what would he do if and when he did meet the man. Would he activate the signaling device in his tooth and alert Frederick, or would he ask for the man’s help?

  Beth paused, turning back, careful to shine her light on the ground. He took her gesture to be courteous, knowing, as she must that his eyes were photosensitive.

  "You've lived here for how long and you've never heard of the underground?" She studied him for a moment, eyes narrowing as if she thought he was lying.

  "I have only been in Seattle for several years and prior to my arrival had never given this place much thought." His quest to find the vampire who had made him had never brought him to the Northwest.

  Beth nodded. "Okay." She continued down the tunnel. "In 1889 a fire torched downtown Seattle, trashing most of the city. When they rebuilt, the buildings in Pioneer Square were at street level. Later the city engineers decided to raise the ground level and built new roads higher, paving over the original first floors of the buildings. What was once the street level became the basements and tunnels we've been passing through."

  "Why on Earth would they do such a thing?" Richard had not been present in Seattle at that point. It had never offered a rich environment for his kind, having a historically small population base.

  Beth waved the light towards to the right where a string of unlit lightbulbs hung from the wall. "I'm not a historian, but I think it had something to do with toilets backing up and other plumbing problems. It sounds to me like the original settlers of Seattle, just weren’t too bright. Anyhow, they lead tours through parts of it now. We need to watch out for them."

  The tunnel opened out into a wide antechamber with a cement floor. The same poorly constructed wall continued on the left, but on the right the stone and wood of what had once been a storefront stood starkly against the darkness beyond. Two large windows, now devoid of glass, and an empty doorway gaped at them like the hollow sockets of a skull. The temperature dropped suddenly and a musty odor permeated the place.

  Richard shivered. Someone or something had died there. Death was one thing he could still sense. Beth seemed to notice it as well. She paused in the doorway, panned her light up at the top of its frame and squinted as if searching for something.

  "It feels like a tomb." He looked up at the beams and stone above, then glanced into the darkness of the old store. There was something familiar about the place, yet he knew he had never been there.

  "Don't be silly.” Beth looked into the darkness and then back at him. “It's just been covered up for a century." Her eyes refocused on the darkness and she brought the flashlight up, aiming the beam into the other room. She did not enter.

  "Someone is watching us." Richard stepped closer to her. Despite her flashlight, the darkness pressed in on them. He wondered if her batteries might be dying, but the light bulb glowed brightly. His spine tingled as his powers stirred beneath the virus shield.

  "Will you relax?” She panned the light back and forth revealing several old tables, a sawhorse, and a rusted sewing machine scattered around the room. On the far side, another passage stretched away from a second doorway. Cobwebs hung like bats from the ceiling, but there were no spiders or any other living thing. “There’s nothing here.”

  Given his current neutered state, that was impossible. Yet, the determined set of her mouth and her steady gaze told Richard that she either believed what she was saying, or wanted to belie
ve it. Either way, if there was something beyond the norm lurking there, she did not know who or what it was.

  "You're getting paranoid in your old age." She stepped into the old store. "Come on, the others are waiting." She spun around and stalked back the way they had come, her long leather coat swirl around her like a cape.

  ***

  Beth paused as they came to a three-way junction. The string of useless lights continued straight, marking the tour trail while a dim light emanated from the left passage while the right appeared to be at least partially filled with brick and mortar debris, most likely from an earthquake. She glanced back to make sure he was still there and then strode confidently down the left passage.

  Richard noticed footprints in the dust in this section. Unlike the other portions of the underground, however, there were no cobwebs hanging from the thick wood and metal beams overhead. As he gazed at the ceiling, he thought he heard the structure creak under the weight of the city. He pulled his coat tightly about him and swallowed, wondering when the collapse in the adjacent tunnel had occurred. The earthquake potential in Puget Sound area was unrivaled by any other location within the United States. For all he knew, the "Big One" could be brewing right then and there. He smiled. That would certainly throw a damper on Frederick's plans. He paused a few feet behind her and risked a glance over his shoulder. Satisfied that no one was following them, he turned back in time to see her press a brick. There was a faint click and the wall suddenly opened inwards revealing a second dark passage beyond. She offered him the briefest of smiles, then motioned for him to follow. Once they had entered, the brick wall slid shut sealing them inside with only her light to guide them.

  Richard caught a glimpse of another buried storefront and a small number of people before Beth’s light winked out plunging them into impenetrable darkness. Had he been in his prime he would have seen everything clearly, including the body heat of the people in the room. As it was, he could only hear their breathing and movement about. He stepped forwards into the darkness and as he crossed the threshold someone gripped his shoulder, halting his forward movement. He felt the cold steel of a pistol muzzle against his left temple.

  "That's far enough." The voice was deep and scratchy as if the man had chain-smoked his entire life.

  "Easy, Jack. This is Richard." Beth sounded vaguely annoyed as if she had had this problem in the past.

  "No one gets through this room without being searched." Jack turned Richard to the left. "Okay, Richard, press your hands out until you hit the wall, then spread your legs a shoulder's width apart."

  Richard did as he was told, taking some reassurance in the fact that the man was being polite and asking rather than just slamming him up against the wall. Jack quickly patted him down. The hand released him.

  "You can get up."

  "Thank-you." Richard straightened and turned into the darkness in the direction Jack's voice had originated.

  "Yeah." Jack paused and Richard heard the others moving around him. “You can go in.”

  “Good." Beth gripped Richard’s wrist. "Come on."

  "Wait." Jack's voice brought them up short. Beth's pull ceased, though she still held him.

  "We need to check him for transmitters."

  Richard tensed, wondering suddenly if Frederick had simply implanted him with the secondary tracking device so that these people would find it and kill him for it. The air moved behind and to his right. Something clicked followed by a mechanical humming.

  "Stay still, Richard. This won't hurt."

  The device passed over every area of Richard's body as Jack moved around him. Richard held his breath, wishing that he could see, but no matter how hard he stared, all he saw was unending darkness. Panic bubbled beneath his calm exterior as he realized that he was completely at their mercy. He waited for the moment that they discovered the tracking unit in his arm, uncertain as to what they might do to him. He shivered.

  "He's clean." Jack patted Richard's arm. "You can follow Beth now."

  “This way.” Beth's grip on his arm tightened and she pulled him forwards. Richard went with her, allowing her to lead him to whatever fate awaited him.

  "Hey, Richard?" Jack called after them.

  "What now?" Beth stopped again.

  "I was talking to Richard."

  Richard sighed. "Yes?"

  "Kind of ironic you being a vampire and not being able to see in the dark, don't you think?" His voice was neutral making it difficult to discern the intent behind his statement.

  Richard instinctively reached for his powers only to crash against the shield. Jack's statement was true; it was tragic irony. Had he been fully vested in his powers, he would have known every inch of the room and could see, feel, and taste every human and animal within a hundred feet. Now he was as blind as the proverbial bat.

  "Do you mock me?" It came out of Richard's mouth, a reflex form a bygone era. He wondered if Jack could see his sneer.

  "No.” Jack laughed. “I was just saying."

  "You're a real piece of work, Jack,” Beth interrupted. “Do you also make fun of people in wheel chairs?"

  "Depends on my mood."

  "Good-bye, Jack." Beth tugged on Richard's arm again. "Asshole." She muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Richard to hear.

  She paused. Richard heard a door open and then Beth pulled him through.

  "Watch the doorway."

  There was a click behind them as the door swung shut. Beth’s flashlight snapped on, filling what had once been a small shed with its soft glow. An old shelving unit of rotted wood lined the right-hand wall, but besides a few old paint cans it was empty. To the left, a large rust-spotted mirror leaned against the otherwise blank wall. Ahead, a battered metal door, like those found on the sides of warehouses, blocked a large entranceway. It was shut now and despite its obvious age; Richard got the impression that it was quite sturdy. The single light bulb hanging down in the center of the room remained off.

  Beth turned to him, her brows knitted in concern. "I'm sorry about that. Jack can be an ass, but he is good at what he does."

  “I find it difficult to believe that such a man would be interested in vampire rights.”

  Beth frowned. "He says he does; says it pisses him off to see anyone treated the way vampires have been. Personally, I think that Vincent is just paying him well enough to keep him honest." She sighed. "Truth be told, every underground movement needs a person like him. He's put a good team together."

  Team? Richard had not sensed anyone other than the three of them.

  "How many people were in the room just then?" Richard doubted she would answer.

  "There were four. Not his entire team, but enough." She seemed on the verge of saying something more, but then thought better of it and just watched him.

  "I see." Although they had been unable to detect his secondary tracking device, they still appeared to know what they were doing. He glanced at the mirror for a moment. Only Beth's reflection shone back making it appear as if she were alone. He had long ago gotten used to this phenomenon; however, he still thought it odd that the Department's virus had not changed that as well. Even those doctors who had created the virus did not fully understand what a vampire was. It supported his feeling that his powers were still there, waiting to be released from their prison and that gave him a glimmer of hope.

  "I can never seem to get used to that." Beth broke his concentration, motioning to the mirror.

  "It only took me about a hundred and fifty years." Richard offered her the briefest of smiles. "You would get used to it eventually, were you to become a vampire."

  She grimaced as if the very concept frightened her. She unzipped the top of her leather coat and tugged on her silver cross.

  "I think I'll pass. The whole immortality thing just isn't me."

  It was not for most people. "I understand."

  "I think it’s time we got moving." Beth paused for a moment, rubbing her thumb against the silver cross. "Jack fre
aked you out, didn't he?"

  Richard felt dizzy. "He reminded me of the guards in the camps."

  She patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Richard. You're safe. Come on." She peered back into the mirror, brushed some dust from her long black leather coat, then stepped up to the door.

  12

  Richard stood next to his bed in the hut. Colette’s pleasing curves were outlined in the starlight as she stood in the open doorway, her back to him.

  "Come, Richard. You are safe." She stepped out of the hovel and strode confidently into the grassy clearing under the dark, moonless night.

  Richard watched for a moment and then followed her. Without the weight of his armor, his homespun tunic and breeches felt soft and comfortable against his skin. His right thigh still ached where he had been stabbed by his enemy's blade, but it had healed enough. Should any trouble arise, he felt confident in his ability to fight. He limped out into the night, one hand hovering near the hilt of his sword. Despite her assurances that he was safe, he had insisted on at least wearing his weapon.

  A cold breeze whipped up a good number of leaves to form a whirling dervish between them. After a moment, the air went still and the leaves fell to the cool earth. Richard shivered but Colette did not seem to mind the chill of the air or the cold earth beneath her bare feet. She stretched her arms wide, causing her dress to pull taught against her sensuous curves as she turned toward him, eyes closed, face peaceful.

  "Is it not a beautiful night?”

  He swallowed, trying not to stare. Despite the darkness, a halo of light shone around her as if she could somehow pull the moonlight to her. She slid a long wooden pin out of her hair and shook her head, allowing her brown tresses to fall freely about the alabaster skin of her shoulders. Her deep green eyes snapped open, connecting with his and sending a shudder through him. He froze in place, unable to look away. He imagined breathing in her lilac fragrance, kissing her full lips….