by Megan Hawke
Dane came crashing in.
"Heidi's shot," I said. I pointed out the window. "Roger just flew out the window carrying Sabrina. Get the bullet out of Heidi and she'll be fine."
I did a running jump out the window, sprouting wings as I streaked through the air. A second later I was flapping with all my might. I heard the college kids below gasp, then ooh, and aww. One said, "Was that a demon?"
Chapter 17
Let's talk predicaments. I had to catch Roger and kill him before he killed again. He was ahead of me about five hundred feet. Considerably higher in the sky. But if I caught him he would drop my sister. I couldn't let him kill my sister. So I had to stay back, but then he would still kill my sister.
Kind of a catch-22 thing.
The biggest problem I had was staying rational and focused. I was seething. I wanted to kill him a thousand times. I wanted to rip out his eyeballs and shoving them up his butt. But the thought that really warmed my heart was ripping off his family jewels, and ramming them down his throat with a broom handle.
All I could do was follow.
Roger was flying erratically. Part of that was probably the difficulty of carrying a hogtied young woman who was terrified and squirming. Part of it was he had no idea what he wanted to do next, or where to go. On top of that, he only had a limited amount of dark left. When that sun came up, Roger either had to be in a light sealed location or deep underground.
"Come on, Roger, put her down," I called. I didn't have to yell at the top of my lungs for him to hear me at five hundred feet. Vampire hearing was incredible. I heard it was even better than werewolf hearing. "She was always a good friend to you. Besides, everyone knows you are a vampire and the killer now. No need to continue killing to keep those now lost secrets."
"She's my guarantee," he said. "You attack me, I drop her."
"I can reanimate her," I said. "And she'd live forever."
"You won't. You hate being a vampire as much as me," he said. "You'd never curse your own sister like that. You would never condemn her immortal soul to eternal damnation."
"You're starting to sound like a preacher now," I said.
"More like the Angel of Death," he said. "Back off, or Sabrina dies."
"If you kill Sabrina I will kill you slow and bloody," I said. "Very slow and very bloody."
Roger didn't respond. I couldn't sense him, and was too far away to hear his heartbeat, but that was just the kind of threat to make his insides turn to mush and send him into panic mode.
I felt a flush of relief and joy from Heidi way back in the apartment. Dane must've gotten the silver bullet out of her. That undertone of pain and misery I was trying to suppress from her was gone. Then I felt her coming my way. We had a strong two-way link. She felt me just as well as I felt her.
What Heidi could do as a tiny bat was in question. I couldn't even communicate with her. She would understand me, but had no way of telling me anything.
"Getting tired, Roger? Just put Sabrina down."
"I'm a vampire. It'll take a lot more than hauling your fat sister around to make me tired," he called back.
I felt a flash of anger up there. He pissed off Sabrina with that comment. There was nothing fat about Sabrina. Never had been, but that was not something you said about even the skinniest woman.
My hope was he would drop Sabrina off in a perilous position, forcing me to go to her rescue. Truth was, I would gladly trade his life for hers. I would make that deal in a heartbeat. Give me Sabrina and I would let Roger go free. I even offered early on in the chase. Roger didn't believe me.
Heidi caught up quickly. Roger couldn't outpace me while carrying Sabrina, so wasn't even trying. She did a big loop around Roger and then returned to me.
Since Changing Heidi into a vampire I've learned what men see in her. She was fun and sexy, eager to try new things, and totally unpredictable. Not always in a good way, either.
Heidi flew straight at my throat. For a second I thought she was attacking. At the last second she morphed to human and slammed into me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her legs around my waist.
The surprise and added weight sent us plunging. We fell a good fifty feet before I adjusted and stopped our descent. Heidi was so damned proud of herself.
"Wahoo! Let's do that again," she said.
"I'd kill you if you weren't already dead," I said.
"You're so romantic," Heidi said. She glanced over her shoulder. "What are we going to do about him?"
"Kill him," I said. "But first we have to save Sabrina. Any ideas?"
"My last bright idea got me shot."
"Let's try this," I said. My heart really started racing. I was playing with my sister's life, but Roger was high enough. "I'll fly above him. You get as close as you can. When I start to dive at him, you fly in and attack his face."
"He might drop Sabrina."
"I'm counting on it," I said. "I won't be aiming for Roger, but below him. I'll catch Sabrina and take her straight down to the ground. You stay with her while I go after Roger."
"Are you sure you want to try that?"
"No, but let's go," I said.
Sometimes you just had to take a chance. I worried that being a vampire gave me the emotional wherewithal to play fast and loose with other peoples' lives. I doubted I would try the same thing as a mortal, or that it would even occur to me to do anything that might possibly endanger Sabrina.
Doubts are bad things. They can kill you in situations like that. So I pushed them down deep and pretended they weren't there.
Heidi turned into a bat and flew off. I began my slow ascent. Nothing too fast. I wasn't ready to spook Roger yet.
"Roger! Have you reconsidered? It'll be day before too long," I called as I rose. "If you slowly drop to the ground, set Sabrina down, and fly away I will not pursue you."
"I don't believe you."
"I give you my word."
"A vampire's promise is worthless," he called.
"Maybe your promises are worthless, but not mine."
"What are you doing?" he said. "Tell Heidi to stay away from me."
"What can a little bat do to you?"
"I'll drop Sabrina. I will," he said. "Don't push me."
"I grow weary of your threats," I said. I was high enough. Almost directly above him, too. "Either drop her or shut up. Punk! Pussy! Sissy boy!"
I think I shocked him. Sabrina was definitely shocked. I began my dive. Fortunately, Heidi was alert for once. She streaked in while he was focused on me.
"Aaaiiieee!" Roger cried.
Heidi went for his eyes with fangs and claws. I thought it would work when he swung at Heidi, but he didn't release with both hands. Roger held Sabrina close with his left arm and shooed Heidi away with the right.
I altered course slightly, and slammed into his side high heels first. At least one rib snapped. I grabbed for Sabrina, but he twisted around and denied me. Countering, I grabbed the hair atop his head and jerked his head back, then sank my fangs into his throat.
Roger wailed pitifully.
Instead of releasing Sabrina, though, he knifed his right hand up into my belly and thrust up at my heart. The pain was incredible. I knew what he was trying to do, since I had done it before. Using the strength of my legs, I pushed off him. I pulled myself off his arm by doing that, but he also got away with Sabrina.
I beat a hard track to get above him again. Heidi started to circle him as Roger made his way towards downtown. I flew fifty feet above him, watching his grip on my sister.
"I impaled a vampire atop an antenna on one of those downtown skyscrapers once," I called. "Is that how you want to die, Roger! Hurt my sister, and you'll pray that's all I do to you."
"I can't take it anymore!" Roger cried. "If you don't back off and stop following me I'm going to kill her!"
"If I let you take her away, you will torture her to death," I said. "This will be faster."
I think I shocked him. I know Heidi was shocked. Of course I
didn't mean it, but I hoped Roger was too distraught and afraid to understand that. But I also had no reason to believe he would do otherwise, either. He'd tortured his other friends to death to keep them silent, and I caught him just beginning to do the same to Sabrina.
Roger surprised me. He grabbed her throat, his fingers curled like talons. My eyes got big as he gave every indication he was going to kill her — wild-eyed, heart starting to race faster.
"This is your fault, Sable!"
I reached up and ripped my own throat open. Turning in midair so my blood spurted down into his face, I then dived. Roger's reaction was immediately and profound. He began retching uncontrollably. A second later I reached him, drove my left wing spike deep into his left shoulder, and then used it to pivot around and thrust the right spike into his right kidney from behind.
"Aaaaaaaaagggghhh!" he cried. I sank my fangs into his throat at the same time Heidi slammed into his face, all fangs and claws. "Aaeeiiiieee!"
Roger released Sabrina.
I kicked off and did a quick backwards loop. Finding Sabrina screaming and falling fast, I went for her in a power dive like none I've ever done before.
"Follow him!" I cried, and then forgot about Roger and Heidi.
I was flying almost straight down, my wings beating harder and faster than ever before. The dark ground was zooming up on us fast. We'd been lower than I realized when he released her. Sabrina was heading straight for the top of a broad live oak.
With maybe a second to spare, I scooped Sabrina up and tried to loop back up. Instead I was slapped in the face with a branch. Then the tender tops of that live oak's upper branches hit me, Sabrina's weight and momentum forcing me lower and lower as I struggled to turn up and away.
"Jesus," I said, hitting a branch hard enough to flip me over. Throwing my wings straight out, I tried to catch the air and slow down. Instead we dropped lower fast and smashed through the intertwined branches of two trees. "Lord have mercy!"
We hit thick shrugs, and then went rolling across damp grass. I was scrambling towards Sabrina the second I stopped rolling.
"Sabrina! Speak to me," I cried, rolling her onto her side. Hogtied, she couldn't lay on her back. "Sabrina!"
Ball-gagged, she couldn't really speak very well, so I hurriedly removed it.
"Bitch, you told him to go ahead and kill me?"
You'd think she'd be more grateful.
"Yes! You're alive!" I cried. And then I started crying. It might be the first time I cried since become a vampire. I mean, balling like a baby crying. I was starting to think I was incapable of tears. Hugging her, I just cried. We cried. "I was so afraid."
"You were afraid?" Sabrina said. "Untie me, and I'll tell you about being afraid. Jesus, I'm freezing my ass off."
I struggled with the knots, but then found I could bite through the knots and the rope. Didn't take long to get her free after that. Scooping her up in my arms, I stood up and extended my wings.
"We'll get you to a hospital," I said.
"No! Mom and Dad will find out," she said. "Just take me home. I'm fine. Really?"
"A doctor should look at you."
"Let him look at me tomorrow," she said. "No hospital."
So I leapt up and started flying for home. I reached out with my vampiric senses. Heidi was still following Roger, and struggling to keep up. Dane was worried sick down at Sabrina's apartment. He felt so useless.
As we flew I willed Sabrina's body to warmth. It was easier with Dane since I had a link with him, but I did help her a little.
Landing in Brandon's backyard, I found everyone waiting nervously inside. We got Sabrina in bed and under an electric blanket. She had a lot of nasty bruises and some minor scrapes and scratches. I healed those pretty easily. My power didn't including seeing emotional scars.
Sabrina fell asleep pretty quickly. Truth was, I was a bit put out by that. Apparently my need to know exactly what happened, what Roger did to her, was less important to her than going to sleep.
"I think she's going to be all right," Desiree said.
"Us Hart's are West Texas stock," I said. "Tough as nails."
"Where are Dane and Heidi?" Kale said.
"Dane's still at Sabrina's apartment, worried half out of his mind," I said, heading for the phone. He needed to come back to us. "Heidi is following Roger. He will not escape me. Not after what he did tonight."
Chapter 18
It was a long hard day for me. Heidi called me just minutes before sunrise. Roger went to ground near downtown. Literally. He dropped out of the sky and sank into the ground. Heidi knew he did it, but was too far behind to know the exact spot.
I had all day to contemplate killing one of my best friends. Torturous hours alone in the dark thinking about how much Roger had helped me over the last month I had known him. Hours to wonder if what he said was true. Was I ultimately to blame? Was it my fault his power manifested itself when it did?
Dane and the Trudeau werewolves had searched all day for his resting place. The werewolf's paranormally strong hearing should enable them to hear his heartbeat, since vampires only dropped six feet under, but they found nothing. Everyone was waiting for sunset and Roger's rise from the earth.
I was up by three in the afternoon. I just couldn't sleep any more. Sabrina was still sleeping. Desiree and Kale were pacing nervously. And well armed with Uzis loaded with sanctified silver. No one trusted the Trudeau wolves either.
Desiree helped me dress. She insisted it would be a well-witnessed "Black Heart" moment, so I had to dress appropriately. I think she just loved to see me in latex. Truth was I expected it to be a very bloody encounter, so it had to be easy to clean latex.
I picked out a black latex bustier with blue piping and straps, and the shoulder strap well to the side and out of the way of my wings. I thought black and blue appropriate. The bustier left my back bare down past my shoulder blades, zipped up the front with five buckled straps. Black latex pants with a waist high enough to vanish up under the bustier. Stiletto ankle boots finished off my outfit. No jewelry or other decoration. I accessorized with a katana strapped across my back and a pistol belt angled across my hips and tied around my right thigh.
Shoot him in the heart, and chop his head off.
"That'll work," I said.
"Sure you don't want to wear at least earrings?" Desiree said, holding up a pair of silver hoops.
"This is all the decoration I need," I said and pulled the sword. It was just a plain katana. No silver casing. No holy symbols etched on the blade. But it was a real sword, not some stamped out steel copy, and sharp. That blade would remove a vampire's head with ease.
As soon as it was twilight I was out the door and airborne. I flew low and fast. Twilight was safe, but very bright for my eyes. If I flew too high I might fly into direct sunlight. That would be bad.
I flew straight as an arrow towards Heidi. She knew I was coming. I felt her relief. Dane relaxed just a tad a moment later, so Heidi must've told him I was on the way. I couldn't feel any of the Trudeau wolves, but Dane reported they were evenly spread out over a wide area. All were armed for vampire.
Landing next to Heidi, I looked her over. She was dressed, which surprised me. Where did she get clothes?
"Dane brought my discard clothes from the apartment," she said, noticing what I was looking at.
She had changed one thing. The red pumps and baby blue jacket were gone. She wore Nike cross trainers now. I remembered them. They were mine, left inside my gym bag which was still in Dane's Jeep. The bag has been there for two weeks, after I went home with him after Krav Maga class.
"He's not up yet?" I said.
"He's probably too scared to rise," Heidi said.
I suspected she was right. Roger was a lot more powerful than he thought. Strength wise, no one there matched him. I was closest, but even among vampires larger meant stronger. Pound for pound, new made vampires were almost as physically strong as one thousand year old vampires. Increases in
physical strength grew very slowly in vampires. Vampiric powers were a whole nother story.
Dane joined up, with Mercedes following him. She seemed to be staying about twenty feet from him. The Trudeau Family pack leader was watching Dane more than the surroundings for Roger. It was all very odd.
"New pet?" I said, indicating Mercedes.
"She's obsessed with Dane," Heidi said, grinning at his discomfort. "Follows him around like a puppy."
"I can hear you," Mercedes said.
"I know," Heidi said.
"Ignore Mercy," Dane said.
"'Mercy?'" I said, shocked. "How familiar with her are you?"
"What?" he said. He looked cornered, heart racing for a moment. Then he got all shy, averted eyes, and everything. "No. We're not sleeping together or anything."
"Not yet," Mercedes said.
"She's old enough to be your mother," Heidi said. "That werewolf curse helps her stay young looking."
"I'm only forty-six," Mercedes said.
"His mother is forty-nine," I said.
"Stop being catty," Dane said.
"We can't be catty," I said. I indicated myself, Heidi and Mercedes. "We're all wolves, so we'd have to be bitchy."
Even Mercedes laughed.
The flutter of leathern wings caught my attention. For a second I thought Roger was making his escape. But then five bats dropped down before us. An instant later five vampires stood there. Four of them were naked.
"Hello, Miss Hart, Mr. Douglass," Henri Trudeau said. He was in a word, gorgeous. Maybe it was the stress of the moment before, but I didn't recall him looking that dashing. He wore snug jeans, button down shirt and sneakers. Very impressive that he could morph into a bat and back, and keep his clothes. "And this must be your lovely associate, Heidi Mainz. I've heard she was beautiful, but I see her description pales in comparison to reality."
Heidi oozed vampire pheromones. She was stunned, in a good way. If he asked her to join the Trudeau Family right then, she would've gone.
