Bent Arrow, page 11
"Illustrious history!?" spat Mimi. "Of what? Killing innocents? So you want rid of this? Whoop-de-do. Bet it has nothing to do with the poor people being drained of their life force and left as little but shells, does it?"
"The state of our food is of little consequence to me, or any other vampire. We look after our own. We want to be stronger than ever, to regain what we have lost because of the addiction. We must destroy Vamp2."
A disturbing edge had entered the room, pulled up a chair, and was now smoking a cigar and looking on smugly. Here was the truth about our guest and his kind. It took us all aback. He'd been so charming, seemed so nice, that it was easy to forget exactly what we were dealing with. The coldness. Utterly callous. They felt nothing for us, believed us to be so far below them we may as well have been bacteria. Vampires always saw themselves as a superior species. These jokers might have been faster, lived longer, and all the rest, but they lacked humanity, and in my book that made them the ones who were to be looked down upon.
"Huddle?" I asked the team.
They nodded their agreement and we headed to the office once more.
Once our heads were together, I asked, "Well, do we still want to join them? Malcolm's a nice vampire, and now I hate him, so let's not forget how nasty the rest are. We can't trust them, they will think nothing of trying to kill us if they don't need us anymore. What say you guys?"
"I say we have no choice," said a reluctant Mimi.
"Boris agree."
"I'm in," said Hanna.
"Aunty?" We all swiveled our eyes to the one who had taken us down this path.
"We can't stop now." Aunty sniffled, and I could tell she was holding back the tears.
"And break," said Mimi.
"Hey, I'm the one who… Ah, forget it." They'd broken anyway. Again.
Back in the kitchen, we told him that we'd join up and help, not for the vampires, but for the humans. He probably didn't even understand our motivation, but screw him. I had a ton of questions, but it was best to start with the obvious.
"How many of you are there to help?"
We held our breath, expecting the numbers to be in their thousands. It was gonna be a doddle. We'd storm the main lair where Vamp2 was being produced, kill those running it, free the slaves, and be home in time for dinner. Or breakfast, as they'd probably want to hunt at night. Main thing was that I didn't have to cook. Mimi would love to feed us, I was sure.
"Five." Malcolm puffed out his chest and beamed at us.
"Fucking five?" I spluttered. "Oh, haha, I thought you actually meant five for a minute. Five thousand. Um, or maybe you mean five hundred? I guess five hundred bloodthirsty vampires along with Team Freaky should do the trick."
"No, I mean five. As in this many." He held up his hand to show his fingers. His nails were nice.
"I never knew vampires had such a good sense of humor," I told the others. "This guy's a real joker."
Malcolm looked at us in confusion. "Did I say something funny? I didn't mean to. Is something the matter?"
"Five vampires is not exactly the whole community up in arms and willing to fight the makers of Vamp2," I explained. "You said the vampires wanted rid, that a lot of you despise it and want it gone so you can be powerful again. Five of you doesn't make it seem that way."
"Oh, I see. You are disappointed. Have no fear, what I said is correct. But only five may come with you to destroy this drug and its makers. We have rules."
"And what might they be? How to be a bunch of utter dicks in five easy steps?"
"I am not sure if I can tell you."
I was beginning to realize that Malcolm may have been a looker but he wasn't the smartest. "You had better start talking, buddy, or the deal's off. Why the hell will there only be five of you?"
"Because the elders believe that to send any more would be to show signs of weakness in front of you humans. We are a proud race, and five powerful vampires will have to suffice, according to the elders, as there are six of you. Even five caused much disagreement. Many wanted it to be less. One maybe, or three at most."
"Um, are there six of us?" I asked the others. "I'm one, Aunty makes two, Hanna makes three, Mimi makes four. Boris makes five. There's five of us, not six."
"We counted the cats," Malcolm told me. "But just as one."
"Huh? Two doesn't make one. Fine. Whatever. Guess five is better than none. But dude, seriously, you lot need to get a grip. This is so dumb. Can't believe this is all about saving face when your lives are on the line. You'd risk everything just to pretend like you're the best? Like we care."
"I have no say in the matter. I am merely here to offer you the chance to help."
"You got that the wrong way round. You help us, we don't help you. This is our gig, not yours. Even though you should be cleaning up your own bloody mess." I was seriously pissed-off now, and getting angrier by the second. Malcolm was a little dim but even he noticed.
"We shall return this evening. When the clock strikes midnight, we shall leave this place and destroy those who besmirch the name of vampire."
I studied him as he pulled at his ear then looked away, real shifty like.
"You were given those lines to say, weren't you?"
His shoulders slumped. "Yes. And now I must say goodbye. Remember, when the clock strikes midnight." He left in a flourish, trying to impress. A moment later, he called from the hall. "Um, how do I unlock the door?"
"Aunty, go let the sad sack out, will you?" I said with a sigh, my anger fading, left with nothing but a bad taste in my mouth.
Downtime
We ate, we dozed, we bickered, we even sprayed some stuff from a bottle I found under the sink all over the kitchen to mask the smell of cow dung. Boris hauled off the remaining parts of the table and began banging about in the shed for several hours. Intrigued, mainly through boredom, I was excited to see him as he came puffing back into the kitchen, knocking against the walls and the doorframe with his creation. He plonked what I expected to be a right pile of crap down, then wiped his brow and stood back, beaming.
"Bloody hell, Boris, that looks amazing." I studied the table, blown away by how beautiful it looked. Gone were the clunky legs, in their place nice tapers that splayed out, making it look like an insect ready to pounce. The top was glued back together so perfectly I honestly couldn't tell where the joins were. It was like a solid slab of wood. It had been sanded, waxed, and polished to within an inch of its life. I peered down at the smooth surface. "I can see my reflection. It's like a mirror. Did you buy this?" I asked, unable to believe he'd done it in the shed.
"Boris good with wood. Boris like carpentry. Boris faery. Work magic with hands, not other magic."
"Well, you did an awesome job, dude. Congrats. That's some serious skill you have there. Damn, it's lovely." I ran my hand over the table-top. It was warm and mellow, a pure joy.
"Care to do the honors?" I asked.
"Mm, mm," he replied, already one step ahead and munching on a pie as he sat.
Crumbs sparkled on the table. He wiped them off, not wanting to ruin the clean lines. The others came in at random times, patting the big guy and giving him a kiss for being so clever. He deserved it. I'd never seen him so happy, beaming as he sat at the table and admired his handiwork.
Eventually, even ogling the table got boring, and we all did our own thing as evening drew in and darkness descended. I found myself sitting alone in the office, staring at the red phone that hardly ever rang, wondering what the night would bring and if we'd live to see the dawn. Maybe I should tidy up to keep myself busy? Nah, I hadn't sunk that low.
The vampires were a real bunch of idiots. I couldn't believe they were so full of themselves that they wouldn't even send a proper crew to help with something they wanted eradicated even more than Aunty. They had to play their power games even when it was just with us. The eyes of the world might be watching, I supposed, but why risk losing? Why risk everything just to act like you were better than others? Ridiculous.
What were they doing in other countries? I bet I knew. They'd taken the momentum created by us actually taking action and run with it. In other places, they'd be massing in huge numbers and taking down the creators of Vamp2 without a problem. But if humans were involved, they were willing to risk it all. Never mind it was us that spurred them to action. They'd never admit it was us that made them pull their fingers out, never give us the credit.
So where did that leave our little island? Flailing, faltering, in danger of going under.
Damn, should we even be doing this at all? I knew we were helping save the untold number of humans who were being used and abused, but it also kept the vampires a little more under control. A juiced-up vamp was not bothering anyone. Would there be more dead overall if they were all strong and fighting fit? Would they kill more, make it actually worse for everyone else? I honestly didn't know, but the thought of people being drained for some sick neck-muncher to get his rocks off was enough to make me sure of one thing at least, and I hated to admit it.
Aunty was right. We had to smash the Vamp2 ring once and for all.
We'd already got to the local dealers and the main supplier for a large part of the country. The others would be freaking out, worried about the supply chain, and I could only imagine how pissed the actual maker was. They wouldn't be taking this lightly. They'd be tooled-up to the max and we were going to walk right into the dragon's lair and expect to emerge victorious.
I thought it through, then thought it through some more, trying to formulate a sensible plan for once. Or if not sensible, then at least half-baked. It was hard, because I kept thinking about my father, what I'd done, if I would ever get the memories back. Guess they were gone for good, like him. Did it matter? Should I care? I wouldn't be able to change who or what I was, no matter what I discovered. I was Freaky Spencer for as long as I lived, and nothing could ever change that fact.
I returned to planning, thinking and worrying in the dark long into the night until I heard banging and clattering from above as the Freaky Finders readied for battle.
With a sigh, I heaved out of the chair, put on my battle face, which consisted of a scowl and a hard stare, not that anyone who ever saw the stare lived long, and headed upstairs to dress appropriately for kicking some nasty vampire ass. Black, it had to be black. Maybe a dash of purple for effect? No, let's stick with all black.
That was just the kind of mood I was in.
Dark, brooding. Maybe a little scared.
Ready and Waiting
We shifted nervously in the office while we waited for the bloody vamps to arrive. I was dark and menacing in black jeans, black cotton shirt, even my glasses were black. Mimi was looking killer as usual, with a tight black vest and some kind of stretchy material leggings. Aunty was wearing the Trousers of Doom and none too happy about it. Hanna was bright and airy, with a nice white blouse and pink skirt. Boris had on his usual vest and dark trousers.
The panthers prowled back and forth, already on high alert. Everyone was tooled-up with knives, swords, and what have you. I had my bow and arrows and I intended to bloody-well use them all.
Ding dong.
"That'll be the bell," I told the others.
"Duh," came the communal reply.
"Let's get this thing done," I told them, sounding confident and giving them a winning smile.
"What's wrong with your face?" asked Aunty.
"Nothing. I'm smiling."
"Well, don't. You look like you're passing wind."
"Haha, he does, doesn't he?" laughed Hanna. "Spencer fart face. Haha."
Everyone laughed, even me. Nerves were beginning to show, so I let them have their fun as I walked to the door and stepped out into the frigid night.
We crunched down the gravel drive, the lights on the house casting long shadows ahead of us as though we were aliens come down from our spaceship to meet the inhabitants of a strange new world. I chuckled to myself. I'd always felt like that. Alien. Different. A thing apart from the rest of humanity. But I had my buddies, and we all felt like that. Or had. Now we had each other.
The vampires were assembled at the main gate. Malcolm was in the middle, three men and a woman on either side of him. He smiled warmly, introduced the others, whose names I forgot instantly as I didn't care about them. I only cared about one thing.
"Can they fight?" I asked.
Before I'd even finished the sentence, I felt warm breath at my ear. The small blond female had leaped the gate and got to me before anyone could react.
"We can fight," she purred warmly.
"You smell nice. Is that Chanel?"
"No, it's Gucci." She was a blur, back in her place on the other side of the gate.
"Aunty, care to open the gate?" Aunty did the honors and then there we were, seven Freaky Finders, if you included the panthers individually, which we did, and five blood-sucking killers ready to right the wrongs their own kind had brought down on both Odd Ones, the Freaks, and Normals. It was the Normals I felt most sorry for. They hadn't signed up for any of this.
"Shall we go?" asked Malcolm. He indicated a fleet of three large SUVs. Tinted windows, new license plates, gleaming under the stark streetlights. There wasn't a soul around.
"Actually, I was thinking we'd take the faster route. You know where we're heading?"
"We know. Our intelligence department gave us a briefing on all we need to know."
"Good. Care to share? Not the location, we got that the hard way, but anything else?"
"Yes, it will be a hard battle. There are many of them, they are well-armed, they are dangerous, they have everything to lose. They will not want to be taken alive, but we will try to bring them before the elders."
"So they can be killed?" I asked, already knowing.
"Yes. Badly."
"And there's lots of them? Wow, great help there, Malcolm."
"Thank you."
He really was a bit dim.
I needed to get control of this situation, ensure the vamps didn't take over and run the show. "Okay," I began. "There's no point driving and trekking through the undergrowth, getting exposed outside the building, risking it all before we even start, so we're going to go through a Gap. Aunty has it all set up, she's checked the ley lines, searched Paths along with Boris, and although there are no direct Paths close enough, we can go through a Gap as long as everyone follows the rules."
"We cannot do that. We are vampires, not magic users. We do not travel that way."
"I know you can't, but we can. As long as everyone remains calm, does as they are told, and holds on to the person either side of them then everything will be fine."
"You don't tell us what to do," spat a man I'd paid little attention to thus far.
"Look, we're in this together. We want this thing done, and going via a Gap is the sensible way to get there. So let's stop with the games and just get the ball rolling, shall we? Whatever makes it work for you. Hey, let it be your idea, I don't care, but we are going through a Gap and that's the end of it. Okay, mate?"
He glared at me but Malcolm nodded. "We accept the proposal, but you are not in charge."
"Then who is?" The vampires stared silently. "Thought as much. You know we have more experience of this kind of thing, that we've already sorted half your mess out, so cut the crap, Malcolm, and the rest of you. This is getting us nowhere."
The small blond was at my side once more, but we were ready this time. As she began to speak, Aunty had a knife at her throat, Mimi was behind her with a cat ready to chew her legs off, Hanna had her sword above the vamp's head, and Boris, well, he just loomed.
"You puny humans don't tell vampires what to do. I'll kill you." Unbelievably, she slapped the knife from Aunty's hand, elbowed Mimi in the stomach, knocked Hanna's sword aside, slapped Boris, and tried to bite me.
Utter contempt mixed with pure anger surged. Boris gently took my glasses off and nodded to me as he held the vampire tight in a bear hug. I glared at her. She met my gaze then screamed like a banshee as her blood surged to her brain, her face turned puce, then the top of her head blew clean off like a party popper.
As the body slumped to the floor, I retrieved my glasses from Boris with a nod, put them back on, turned to the vampires and said, "Don't fuck with us. I warned you once, I won't do it again. Now, do as you're fucking told or fuck off. I'm in charge, and don't you forget it."
They stared at the corpse, they stared at me, at us, then they nodded. They weren't very pleased, can't blame them, but if this was to work we had to have someone in charge, a leader, and much to my surprise it turned out to be me. Sometimes I amazed myself. I really could be all grown-up and a bit intimidating when I put my mind to it.
"Now," I said, "please enter our property and Aunty will explain exactly how this is going to work."
Reluctantly, they stepped onto our property and followed us back to the lawn where Aunty had things humming along nicely in the ether.
Nervous Vampires
We gathered around Aunty on the grass, more a flattened hayfield what with me being unable to mow. She stood dead center, loving the attention. The vamps shifted uneasily. This was not something they knew, way out of their comfort zone. I was enjoying it immensely.
Vamps had skills of their own. The ability to travel at great speed over relatively long distances. But it paled next to our way of traveling. No energy expenditure, at least nothing like theirs, and much further distances could be covered. Aunty had improved her abilities considerably of late, and now we had our very own private Gap right here in the garden to take us directly to the Vamp2 source.
"Okay," began Aunty. "If I'm right, and I am, then when we pop out of the Gap at the other end, we will be seventy miles away and actually inside the warehouse. What we'll find there is unclear, it may be where the people are, they could be in another building nearby or underground, anywhere, but our information came from someone who knows, or knew, and he told us this is where it all happens."
