Vampz Macabre

by N. R. Larry

  I shook my head. “Damn vamp speed.” It was only good when it was being used to clean up my kitchen.

  I got up to close the back door and called Bao down. As I sat back down, I perked my ears. Nothing moved upstairs. I gritted my teeth. “I know she didn’t.” After taking in a deep breath, I went upstairs and opened the room that she shared with Fiona.

  She was gone.

  I had to work extra hard not to grip the doorknob. After all, I already had a hole in the wall to fix. I shook my head and muttered, “These god damn kids.”

  BY THE TIME I LANDED on the roof of Lincoln High School, I was fuming. Take in these kids that have nowhere to go, I used to tell myself. It’s the right thing to do. After all, someone had taken me in when I couldn’t remember my name and gave me a new one. Because of my adoptive mother, Abel Goins, I became a foster mother, but I never seemed to be able to run a tight ship the way that woman could.

  I floated down to the ground, ignoring the looks of confusion on the security guard’s faces and snorted to myself. Right or not, these kids were going to kill me faster than any monster could. And Bao had always been the one I never had to worry about.

  Guess that shit was over.

  I passed the new security guards, there were always new ones as no one wanted to work at Lincoln High—to many supernaturals, and worse, too many children of color—and let two familiar ones wand me with metal detectors.

  “Ms. Hex, how you doin?” Gary, the older, fat one asked me as he scanned me up and down.

  I forced myself to smile. He was a perv sure, but totally harmless. “I’m doing okay, Gary, and yourself?”

  “Awe, I can’t complain beautiful.” He shuffled from one foot to the other. “Can’t complain!”

  I fixed a bright smile on my face and went through the detectors, and then picked up my belongings on the other side. “Well, you have a good day, Gary!” I called over my shoulder as I headed to for the front desk.

  Mrs. Jane, the front desk receptionist, greeted me with a sigh. I managed to stifle a laugh. She was always in a bad mood “Which one of them you need?” she asked, as if offended to see my face once again.

  “Baobao Huang.”

  Her penciled on eyebrows lifted as she picked up the phone on her left. “Really?”

  I nodded.

  She shrugged and said, “Mrs. Pride? Yes, Ms. Hex is here for Baobao.” When she hung up, she pointed at the notebook in front of me. “You know what to do. She needs to be checked out.”

  I nodded again, and then picked up the pen attached to the wire rungs by a thin piece of yarn. As I was filling out the form, there was a high-pitched shriek. I winced and dropped the pen.

  “What the hell?” Mrs. Jane turned around in her seat.

  With a knot in my stomach, I crept around her desk and peered down the hall. I stopped cold. There was a tall girl with cornrows racing toward me. Her hand covered her neck. Blood seeped out through her fingers.

  Baobao chased her down on all fours, like an animal. Her fangs were extended, and her features had shifted into something I didn’t recognize. It was the first time I stared at one of my kids and thought, monster.

  Chapter Three

  “Oh, hell nah!” Mrs. Jane hollered.

  With my eyes still trained on Bao, I leapt on top of the desk, grabbed the receptionist under the armpits and flew back through the front doors. She let out a stream of curse words as I sat her on the sidewalk where the buses lined up at the end of the day. I had no idea how I was moving because my heart seemed locked up in my chest. When I turned around, the security guards were scrambling around near the entrance. From inside, there was an explosive crash. I tucked my fear somewhere deep inside and started back inside.

  Before I could get there, a blur of movement swept by me so fast that my curly hair whipped around and hit me in the face. With my hand over my chest, I spun around, panting. About five hundred feet away I glimpsed a spot of black hair and took to the air. Within seconds I was hovering over Bao. Peering down, I noticed that the girl she had been chasing down was nowhere in sight. I went into a dive and drove myself into her back.

  A savage growl came out of her throat as she tumbled down the sidewalk and past a row of houses. Before she could get back on her feet, I snatched her up by the wrist and shot up into the sky before anyone could spot us. Bao let out a roar that left me cold with fear as she thrashed around in my grasp. Luckily, I was able to hold onto her with relative ease.

  Unable to think of anything else to do, I kept my gaze on the sky and kept flying upward. Kicking my feet, I picked up speed and soared into the clouds and beyond. Closing my eyes, I let the wind whip my hair back and soaked in the feeling of the sun and air. I might not know exactly where I came from or what in the hell I was, but I knew I could fly, and even in situations where I was scared half out of my mind, it was the best feeling in the world.

  The farther up I flew, the less Bao struggled. After a few more seconds, I shifted left and lowered my altitude. Once I was low enough, I spotted an abandoned gas station and headed for it. By that time, Bao was relatively still in my arms. I landed behind the building, took one hand away from her, and elbowed my way in through a window that was already half gone.

  For several minutes, I just stood there in half darkness, holding onto Bao. My heart drummed in my ears, making me dizzy. I closed my eyes and shook off the nerves, and then, I turned her around. In that moment, I thanked God that I had seen so many things in my lifetime, because if I hadn’t, I might have reacted.

  Her eyebrows had grown in thicker, and so had the skin around her mouth and eyes. She stared at me with blood red eyes, and the lines of her forehead were prominent, making her look like an ancient creature.

  I took in a breath and held it for several moments. “B?”

  She lurched forward and growled.

  Panicked, I reached back and slapped her across the face, making sure to pull the blow so that it wouldn’t hurt her too much. She flew out of my arms, and across the room, putting a small dent in the far wall.

  A loud gasp echoed in the room. Biting down on my lip, I crept toward her. “Bao?” I asked again, this time in a stage whisper. She shot up onto her feet and her arms spread out as she swayed from side to side. I stopped my advance and tried to regulate my breathing. One of her knees bent in sideways and she slowly turned toward me. With her hair in her face the way it was, she reminded me of that little bitch from The Ring.

  I held up my hands in case she decided to pounce. “Bao? Talk to me.”

  She didn’t reply. Other than the sound of the wind whipping the gas hoses around outside, the only noise was her ragged breathing. My gut tightened with instinct. Any other time, I would have already taken a beast down.

  But this was different.

  I started inching toward her again. She went still and then began shaking like a leaf, only, made of stone. I held my breath and reached for her face and swept her hair back. Underneath that curtain was Bao—the wide eyed and studious blood drinker I’d known for five years now.

  My knees almost gave out in relief. Her body rocked with a sob and she rushed into my arms. “Mal!” she cried out in a muffled voice. “What’s happening to me?”

  I hugged her closer to me and placed my cheek on the top of her head. “Don’t worry, honey,” I said, even though every muscle in my body was tight with horror. “You know I got you. We’re going to get this figured out.”

  IT WAS RARE FOR ME to be paralyzed with indecision. Living the way I did, I had to be able to shut out truly scary shit all the time and focus on what needed to be done. But, at that moment, there were too many thoughts sprinting around inside my skull for me to find any focus. Too much shit had already gone down, and it wasn’t even nine o’clock.

  At home, I tucked Bao in, where she fell right asleep. A small blessing. I crept out of her messy room, closed the door, and then leaned against it.

  Swiping my hand down my face, I resisted the urge to c
ollapse then and there in the hallway. The most logical thing was to go to the school. I needed to make sure no one was hurt. On the other hand, I didn’t want to leave Bao by herself. I rolled my eyes, pulled my phone out of my pocket, and trudged to my room. I really didn’t want to call the local vamp club, but there was only one of me. I needed backup.

  Pressing my ear to the phone, I closed my door and flopped backwards on my bed.

  “Yeah?” a familiar voice said into my ear.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to say the name of the club when you answer?”

  He let out a deep laugh in response. “Mal, how yo fine ass doing?”

  I managed not to gag. “Where is Ryland?”

  “Out, what you need girl?”

  For a second, I thought I might hang up. Of all the people that worked for Ryland at Blood N’ Fangs, Jaylen was the most insufferable. “When will he be back?”

  “That man don’t report to me like that, girl.”

  I tightened my grip on the phone. “I really need a favor.”

  He chuckled. I could almost picture his dark eyes scanning me up and down. I shuddered. “You know I’m always here to service you, girl. I’ll be over in two seconds.”

  I almost dry heaved. “Not that, Romeo. I need a babysitter.”

  He laughed. “Then call a daycare. What the fuck I look like?”

  I smiled, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “Fine, later when I see Ryland, I’ll mention how unhelpful you were.”

  There was a long pause. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “We both know you ain’t no snitch.”

  My smile widened. “Today I’d narc on my grandmother.”

  “Oh, it’s like that?”

  I sighed. “Come on Jaylen, I’m really desperate here. You know I can’t take my kids to a damn daycare. I just need someone the kid can’t kill to watch over her for a few hours.”

  There was another long beat of silence. “Alright, girl. I know you good peoples. I’ll send over Felicia.”

  I widened my eyes. “No! Don’t send—” The music that had been playing on the other end cut off. I glanced down at my screen. The call had ended. I rubbed my temples. This day really needed to end. Seconds later, there was a loud knock on the door. I sighed. Sometimes I really wished vampires weren’t so damn fast.

  I reached into the drawer of my nightstand, pulled my hunting knife out, and then slid it into my back pocket before bounding down the stairs. As soon as I opened the door I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter.

  Her hair was done in bright red, goddess braids, and she was wearing a matching leather body suit and boots. She removed her sunglasses, scanned me up and down and pursed her lips.

  With a sigh, I opened the door and waved for her to come in. “Felicia. Good to see you.”

  “Mm hm.” She sauntered past me and glanced around with a clear look of disdain on her face.

  I closed the door. “How are you?”

  She turned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, this shit must be nice.”

  I stared at her and pushed my temper down. “What must be nice, Felicia?”

  “To just have vampz on call like this.” Her dark eyes narrowed. “Like I don’t have better shit to do.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. “I really appreciate you coming out here like this.”

  She snorted. “Whatever, you know I can’t stand your bougie ass.”

  I held a hand up. “I’m really not in the mood for this.”

  With a laugh, she inched toward me and puffed her chest out. “Then I suggest you stop using Ry as your little blood daddy.”

  I continued to stare at her. “Can we please not do this?”

  She parked a hand on her hip. “And what are we doing?”

  “Being those kind of women that get shitty with each other over a man.” I threw my hands up. “Me and Ry are friends. That’s it. If you have a flame for him, take it up with him.”

  Again, she scanned me up and down. The patience was slowly leaving me and I felt myself about to lose my shit. “See, that’s why I hate light skinned bitches.” She snorted again. “If I wanted Ry, I’d have him, and your ass couldn’t do shit to stop me.”

  My answering smile was tight. “I’m not doing this with you.” I pointed toward the stairs. “Bao is upstairs. The kids will be home around three, and then you can leave Amir in charge. Until then, don’t let Bao out of this house. There are some blood bags in the refrigerator and you have my number.” I fluttered my eyelashes. “Do I need to write any of that down?”

  Her body jerked and I whipped out my knife before she could make another move. Her hate filled gaze glanced down at my weapon and she froze. Inching forward, I held the knife to her neck. “Are we going to have a problem here?”

  Her jaw clenched and her fangs shot out over her full lips. She was breathing so hard that her entire body moved with the effort of air going into and out of her lungs. Finally, she fangs retracted and she held up her hands. “Nah, bitch. We good.”

  I smiled again and then backed away. Sliding my knife back into my pocket, I nodded. “Good, then bye Felicia,” I said before I ducked out of the front door.

  “Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before!”

  BACK AT THE SCHOOL, everything was a shit show. Uniformed police officers swarmed the parking lot, and there were even a few reporters talking to Mrs. Jane, who was loudly telling anyone who would listen about the terrifying attack she’d witnessed. Trying to avoid the chaos, I slipped in through the back entrance and made my way to the principal’s office.

  “I want that girl expelled!” a woman’s voice cried out. I stopped before turning the corner. “And I will be pressing charges. She belongs in that home! The one they send the ones that can’t be tamed to!”

  My heart hitched in my chest at the thought of Bao becoming a Carson Hall kid. Operating at the edge of the city, the facility claimed to rehabilitate troubled supernaturals—so that they could assimilate into human society, but they were full of shit.

  Carson Hall kids were used and often wound up worse than when they went in. Ryland and I had been trying to get them shut down for years, but they had connections even Ryland couldn’t seem to penetrate.

  “Mrs. James. I know you are upset. Bao’s guardian has been notified, and I assure you, all necessary steps will be taken.”

  I sniffed. Mrs. James had to be the mother of the young lady Bao had attacked.

  She huffed. “And you think that makes me feel better? The damn neighborhood is already dangerous enough without those... animals running around. I will be starting a campaign to get them the hell out of our schools!”

  I gritted my teeth and my hands balled up into fists. Taking in some deep breaths, I reminded myself that she was a mother. After all, how would I feel if the situation were reversed? Again, I was frozen with indecision. This could quickly turn into a vampire hunt. I had to protect Bao.

  “Mal!” someone hissed from behind me.

  I turned around to find Fiona hovering near the girl’s bathroom. I glanced around and headed over to her. “Hey, kiddo.” I ruffled her deep red hair.

  She frowned. “I heard what happened to Bao. Are they going to take her to Carson Hall?”

  I matched her frown, darted my gaze around, and then pushed my way into the bathroom, gesturing for her to follow. After making sure we were alone, I locked the bathroom door and sighed.

  “No,” I told her, making my tone sound confident even though I was anything but.

  Her eyes pooled with tears. “But, she attacked a human. That’s what happens when you attack a human here.” She shuddered. “You go to Carson Hall.” She shook her head, and her hair floated away from her face like a ruby encrusted flag. “They have the highest suicide rate of any alternative home in the country.” She sniffled and tears rolled down her cheeks. “You can’t let Bao go there. You just can’t!” Her eyes flickered and shades of green rolled through them. For a mome
nt, I was almost hypnotized.

  I blinked and shook my head. “Fi, calm down.”

  The veins in her skin started to go black. My eyes widened. “Fiona Kelly—” I muttered in a low voice.

  Her skin glowed and then darkened to a bluish green. I inched forward as black lights flashed all around her. “Bao can’t leave! She never does anything wrong!”

  “I know baby. I’m going to protect her, but you need to calm down.” I shook my head and wondered why all my kids chose today to lose their damn minds. “Please, just calm down.”

  Her wings shot out and fanned away from her. They turned from delicate shades of green—like wings on an oversized butterfly, to thorny, black weapons. She was tapping into the dark side of her faerie magic, which meant that I was about to have a huge problem on my hands.

  With eyes that flashed with black lightning, she growled, “I will not let them take her.”

  I inched forward again. There was a loud pop, and the lights snapped off. I sucked in a sharp breath. The air around me froze. When I tried to move, it was like I was being held down by invisible restraints.

  I opened my mouth to reason with her, only to find the words stuck in my throat. Outside the door, a woman screamed, and then another scream layered on top of hers. Within seconds, hundreds of screams roared in my ears and I thought my skull would crack under the weight of them.

  Chapter Four

  Fiona’s magic tore into and out of me like an energy dagger. My feet were sealed to the floor and my flesh rippled in pain. Again, I was frozen. In one day, I was about to lose all the things that mattered to me the most. Once I realized that, something inside of me snapped. A memory flashed through my mind of my adoptive mother and some part of her spirit took over my body.

  She never talked about it, but something, some accident she had in her youth had left her with a limp. It was the one thing that always stood out because that limp fooled people. She would roll up on you, hobbling like some helpless thing, and before you knew it, your ass was on the ground begging for her not to snap your arm.