Dark as the Grave

by Peter Dawes

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. A little of the assassin I had been no more than a week ago rose to the surface, preparing to play the ruse while armed enough to take control of the situation. As I opened my eyes, I nodded to clear my nervous thoughts.

  “Gentlemen,” I muttered in preparation. “What a lovely evening it is.

  “I imagine none of you thought you would run into me.”

  Chapter 28

  Their thoughts remained closed to me and opening them stood the risk of showing my hand sooner than I wanted to. What I could glean was that they were vampires of varying covens, all from different portions of the city except for Matthew’s house. What fueled their motivations, I could not determine, but their immediate intention seemed to be to locate Ms. Griffith. Sure enough, when I stole another look at them, I saw her attacker among the lot.

  “You’re sure they brought her here,” a man who seemed to be the ringleader asked. I gleaned his name – Matthias – but little more about him, intent instead on listening through the door to their discussion.

  The original assailant nodded. Christopher. “I followed the ambulance here. Are we sure we should be making such a public spectacle?”

  “Laurel and the others can work on glamouring the humans. You, me, and Justin will collect your mistake, along with a few others. Public or not, we need to sweep this up before anyone else becomes aware of what we’re doing.” They approached the main desk where the admissions clerk sat, looking justifiably nervous. Matthias smirked at her. “Good evening. We’re here about a patient.”

  I did not listen to the clerk’s response. After double-checking their number, I turned away from the door, focusing on Chloe as she ran toward me with two scalpels in hand. “It was all I felt comfortable taking away from the storage room,” she said. “I still have no idea what you’re going to do with these and don’t like the implication.”

  “You wanted to know what I have been doing for five years,” I said taking them in hand and tucking them in my coat pocket. “Well, you are about to get your answer. I promise, you would have more to be worried about if they were human. They are not.”

  “What in the hell are you talking about?”

  A barked scream preempted my response. Before I could so much as flash a fang at Chloe, the sound forced my attention back to the waiting area. Matthias had forced the clerk to her feet and shoved her in the direction of the door. Ducking back away from the small window, I looked at Chloe again. “Hide. I will handle this.”

  Chloe fumbled for speech and finally settled on listening to me. As she scurried away, I squared my shoulders and touched the door, giving my glasses a final adjustment before pushing it open. Strolling forward, I made eye contact with Matthias, stopping him and the clerk from their march toward the emergency room. Matthias blinked as he took in the sight of me. “Flynn?” he asked. “Is that you?”

  “Striking that you have to ask that question given your reason for being here,” I said, settling immediately into the role I had determined to play. Casting a quick glance at the clerk, I pretended to be impassive before directing my attention back to Matthias. “Let her go. I’d like to speak to you somewhere in private.”

  Matthias glanced at the woman, capturing her in his thrall. “Sit and don’t move until I tell you otherwise,” he said, pushing her toward her chair again when he finished and dismissing her almost immediately after she took her first step toward it. Focusing on me again, he nodded. “I’ll tell the others to keep everyone else in line.”

  “Do that, then.”

  While I had hoped I might direct them elsewhere, that I had delayed them from walking into the emergency room itself seemed enough of a victory for the time being. Matthias nodded at Christopher, who strode over to the doors leading into the waiting area and locked them. What few humans remained looked around, confused, as Christopher also drew the blinds, shutting us out from view of the rest of the hospital. As the others kept the onlookers pacified, Matthias paced back to me, leading me back toward the doors. “Flynn, I promise you we left as soon as possible to clean up after ourselves,” he said, lowering his voice.

  “Not soon enough, it would seem,” I quipped. Christopher met my gaze for a moment, looking suspiciously guilty, before I glanced back at their leader. “Sabrina sent me to cover your tracks before the Supernatural Order gets wind of what you are doing.”

  Matthias scoffed, slipping his hands in his pockets and shifting his stance. “She didn’t make it sound as though they’d had time to react.”

  “They have been chomping at the bit to do so. I have already killed one of their sorceresses who went around snooping for information.” I raised an eyebrow. “Did she not tell you that?”

  “No, she didn’t.” He shot a quick glance at the others before moving closer to me, lowering his voice. “We’d planned to collect our mistake and a few others. If Mistress Sabrina is concerned about our quota, you can assure her we have every able-bodied vampire on the job.”

  “You can do the work of ensuring her. I am only here to enforce her orders.” Quota. I homed in on the word, curious to explore it. “How many did you plan on taking from here? And how were you going to cover your tracks?”

  “Only a few more. There are enough of us both for capture and for covering our tracks. If we move quickly, we can be done and back within an hour.” Matthias lifted a hand, resting it on my shoulder. “Tell her our first batch of neophytes are about to awaken. We will have more for her in a week’s time.”

  Neophytes. My blood ran cold as I realized why Christopher had not finished dispatching of Joann Griffith before being chased away. He had intended to turn her vampire and, from the looks of things, was doing so under duress. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. “Yes, well, I would if I had any intention of letting you in there. I am here now. Go find somewhere else to poach.”

  Matthias stared at me, tilting his head as I narrowed my eyes. One of my hands slipped inside my coat as he freed his from his pockets. “How did Sabrina learn about Christopher’s mistake so quickly?” he asked.

  “Does it matter?” I countered. “Why, are you going to be foolish enough to question me?”

  “Not foolish enough to be suicidal, Flynn, no.” While his lips produced the words, his thoughts shifted, distrust emanating from him the same way it had earlier from Chloe. “We’ll return to Sabrina, then, while you clean up here.”

  As he strode away from me, I sighed. Drawing a knife from its sheath, I watched him start to reach behind his back and knew without reading his mind that he had a weapon hidden there. While he pivoted to line me in his sights again, I rushed forward, and though he pulled his knife out in time, I already anticipated his initial swipe. Dodging it, I thrust the dagger into his chest and smirked.

  He turned to dust, his remnant falling to my feet.

  While the others had watched his demise, stupefied, seeing me shift my focus to them spurred them into action. The female vampire closest to the door ran for it, motioning to unlock it. I threw the knife at her and mere seconds later, her ashes drifted to the ground as well. My dagger clattered when it hit the tile floor, abandoned when the remaining eight rushed at me, en masse.

  I reached into my coat pocket for the two scalpels, producing them as Christopher reached me first. “Have you completely lost your mind?” he asked. “We have a deal with Sabrina.”

  “How fascinating,” I said. Shifting one of the scalpels to my opposite hand, I dual-wielded them, swiping at Christopher with one and warding off another vampire with the other. While I cut the latter, Christopher dodged the attempt and stepped back a few paces. I shifted my focus away from him. While two others reached me, I dropped to my knees and toppled them over, springing immediately to my feet again afterward.

  The humans in the background scattered to the far side of the room, the clerk included now that Matthias had perished. Paying them only cursory mind, I invested myself fully to the fight again when another got too
close, kicking them back so I could throw one scalpel at the vampire standing beside them. The one I had kicked back staggered, but remained on his feet. I ignored the fate of his cohort, realizing I had my first true challenger of the lot.

  He reached for the nearest chair and swung it for me in a violent arc. It forced me backward, but left him unguarded. I whipped a fist for him and kicked him to the ground before he could regroup. As he stood, however, I sensed the unfamiliar premonition of another vampire nipping at my heels.

  Shaking off the new extrasensory talent, I leaped onto an empty chair and aimed another kick square for the vampire’s jaw. The force of the impact sent him flying backward. He landed hard onto the tired floor, sprawled out and at my mercy. Stepping down, I plunged my remaining scalpel into his chest before he could recover. He transformed into dust, leaving me holding the improvised weapon.

  When I lifted my eyes from his remains, I counted my remaining adversaries. Six. My first opponent had rejoined the others, crowding around Christopher, and I smirked as they studied me with obvious intimidation in their gazes. “You all do realize none of you are leaving this room alive, right?” I asked. As I reached into my coat for another of my knives, I turned its hilt around in my hand and assessed each vampire. They, in turn, bared fangs at me and began their next onslaught.

  Christopher ran forward first, leaping to attempt to tackle me. I crouched onto the floor fast enough for him to miss and rolled out of the way, avoiding another who likewise pounced for me. They hit the floor, and as they did, I plunged the dagger through their back, drawing it back before I lost precious seconds. Throwing the knife sent it plunging into the chest of the remaining female and as she turned to dust, I stood again. That left four.

  Making another vie to down me, Christopher charged again, but I deflected the harried action, throwing him onto the floor where he landed atop the remains of another. A vampire who had made it to the door confiscated my first knife from a pile of ashes and attempted an untrained, but accurate, retaliatory throw, that I caught by the hilt mid-air. “Many thanks,” I said, sending the blade hurtling back at the vampire with a practiced flick of my wrist. It flew as it was meant to; with enough speed that he was unable to catch it.

  The knife sank deep into his chest, and then hit the floor again. Christopher came to a shaky stand and glared at me, but I grinned in response. I had one scalpel in hand and another knife on my holster with three vampires remaining. “So, tell me about this deal of yours,” I said. “Maybe if I like what you have to say, I might spare you.”

  His two remaining compatriots rejoined his side, but none of them ran for me yet. Instead, Christopher furrowed his brow, rage and fear giving way to confusion. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “Is this some twisted game to you, Flynn?”

  “While I enjoy twisted games, I can assure you the question is quite serious. Tell me about the deal you made with Sabrina.”

  “She named herself leader over all the Delaware Valley vampires. Those who bend the knee and do her will were promised to be spared her wrath. We did exactly that after hearing what you had done to our coven masters. This was her command to us.”

  “To sire neophytes?”

  “You ask me that like you don’t already know.” Christopher frowned. “I thought you were sent to exact punishment against us. But you weren’t, were you?” He relaxed his posture, albeit marginally. I saw a light of recognition in his eyes which unnerved me with its presence. “Something happened to you. You aren’t on Sabrina’s side, are you?”

  “You are making my knife itchy, Christopher,” I said.

  He held up a hand. “No. Please, hear me out,” he countered. “If you think the rest of us are on her side, let me challenge that assumption. We might have more in common than you think.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You came here with the intent of doing further harm to a human you already failed to kill. Enlighten me as to what we have in common.”

  “If you care at all about that, then you should care about what orders I was following.” He mirrored my raised brow. “Think about that, Flynn. We can parlay if you can promise me protection. As it stands, the entire vampire collective thinks you’re hiding in the shadows, ready to exact Sabrina’s will. If you aren’t, this changes the entire game.”

  “How do you know I’m not trying to entrap you?”

  “Because you haven’t been much for discussion, over all. As several of us now can attest to.” Christopher held out both hands, as if to show me he meant no harm. I studied him for a moment, realizing I had a choice to make.

  Reaching into my coat, I produced my final knife and brandished it in front of him. He tensed, and as I threw it at one of his compatriots, he gasped in terror, jumping when the scalpel made its way toward the other remaining vampire. Both turned into ash, leaving him standing before me, flinching as if expecting the end to come to him as well.

  “Protection for you. Not for them,” I said. “Until I know the lay of the land, consider me justifiably paranoid.

  He nodded emphatically, struck mute otherwise. I could not help but to smirk. “Now, stay right there,” I added. “I have a sorceress who would probably like to speak to you.”

  Chapter 29

  A bewildered Chloe located Monica while I erased the memories of the other humans who had witnessed the execution of so many vampires. When I reached my old friend, one look in her eyes told me how much she had witnessed. “What the hell are you now, Peter?” she asked, keeping at least a foot of distance between us in the process.

  I sighed. Monica patted me on the shoulder as she strode past, assessing our captive vampire first before walking around to collect the personal effects which had been left by his deceased friends. Focusing on Chloe again, I allowed my lips to part enough to show her the tips of my fangs. “Reality is far more surreal than you might have imagined,” I said. “Forgive me for not being candid.”

  Stepping backward a few additional paces, Chloe stopped only when she neared a wall, but did not press her back against it. Instead, her whole body tensed, her feet remaining still as I made up some of the distance between us. “Is that how you knew what happened to that poor girl in the emergency room?” she asked. When I nodded, she drew a deep breath inward. “What are you going to do to me?”

  “Nothing. Only block out your memory of this ever happening.”

  “Why would you do that?” She raised an eyebrow at me.

  I laughed. “Obvious reasons, Chloe. Nobody would believe you and I fear it might drive you mad. Contrary to what you might be thinking right now, I remember you fondly and would not want that for you.” As I prepared to lock her inside my thrall, she shut her eyes and shook her head.

  “No,” she said. “Don’t do that. Please.”

  Her request made me hesitate. When she opened her eyes and discovered me admiring her, undoubtedly with an expression of curiosity, she attempted to relax. In turn, I glanced back at Monica, seeing her still engaged. Looking at Chloe again, I frowned. “Chloe, I am probably obligated –”

  “And leave me to deal with people like that lady, not knowing what sort of hell they just visited?” It took her a moment, but she challenged herself to take a step toward me. “Pete, I don’t understand what the hell happened to you and what all of this is, but if this is the truth of things, I’d rather know.”

  She continued to stare at me, unflinching. I grumbled and finally waved a hand at her dismissively. “Fine,” I said, “but I will not take responsibility for whatever comes from it. You are skimming the edge of a dangerous world.”

  “Then so be it.” She nodded toward Monica. “Now, take her and get the hell out of my hospital. Until I know how to deal with this, I think it’s best if I didn’t have to deal with you.”

  While I could not deny how much her words pierced through me, I nodded in agreement and turned away from her. Monica finished cleaning the last of the personal effects, leaving only scattered piles of dust. Carrying two of m
y knives, she handed them to me hilt first and waited patiently while I took each and slipped them back into their sheathes. “Your friend still looks pretty rattled,” she said, hands settling to her sides once freed.

  I nodded, sparing one final glance at Chloe. She avoided my gaze. “Yes, I think in several different ways,” I said, walking to retrieve the last abandoned knife and securing it into place. Looking back at Monica, I sighed. “She will be fine, though. I remember her being a stalwart woman. We need to take this one and see what else he has to say.”

  Monica nodded, and as Christopher looked up from the chair where he had taken a seat, he lifted to a stand. Stepping over a pile of ash, he strode ahead of us, pausing to unlock the door to the waiting area before continuing onward. I peered around, not seeing any sign of either hospital security or the police. All the same, I decided lingering would not serve us well. We strode out the sliding doors and back onto the streets, waiting until we had put some distance between us and the hospital before settling into discussion.

  Christopher looked around nervously. I took out a cigarette and lit the end, admiring the other vampire while Monica remained quiet and pensive. “You were from the coven in Fox Chase,” I said.

  “Still am,” he said, looking back at me. “Until a few days ago, in any event. While we suspected the worst, we didn’t know the fate of our Master until Sabrina herself arrived on our doorstep, telling us that she had staged a coup and won. This was when she made her demand for our fealty.”