Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I t took longer than expected, but Demetrius was finally able to locate Shrieky Pete’s MP4 player in a saddlebag of his motorcycle. He’d had to reach past a few bandanas that were stiff with old sweat or snot—and a couple that were still disturbingly damp—and he couldn’t help making a face. Now he just hoped the player’s battery had enough charge remaining.
Demetrius squatted beside the motorcycle as he fiddled with the unfamiliar device, trying to stay out of sight of the DPW garage. It was taking a lot of effort for him not to rush inside and try to break down the basement door. His initial idea had been slightly refined as they’d slowly driven through the crowded streets of downtown, and it was ridiculous, at best. Doomed to fail at worst.
Just like every other monster case they’d been involved in.
And, come to think of it, pretty much every Critter Catchers job they’d been on.
He stopped tinkering when he saw movement out on the asphalt of the fenced in parking lot. He held the lighted screen against his chest and ducked his head a bit more as he peered over the seat of the motorcycle. He definitely was not thinking about Shrieky Pete planting his sweaty ass on its surface at the end of a long day of physical work. Nope, not at all.
A pair of vampires zipped across the parking lot and let themselves into the garage. Well, that pretty much proved Demetrius’s theory about John the Bastard being Xavier’s Renfield. What a fucker.
He returned his attention to the MP4 player. The battery was at thirty percent, which would be fine for what he intended. Hopefully the boombox had some juice as well. As he searched for the power button on the boombox, secured with bungee cords to the handlebars, Demetrius was grateful the fenced in lot of the DPW buildings had kept kids from stealing it. And the patrolling vampires probably helped deter theft as well. Maybe that could be a side hustle for Michael if the medical examiner role didn’t work out.
The boombox buttons lit up, and Demetrius checked the settings in the MP4 player. The two devices had paired automatically, and he tapped on the music player app, then selected Playlists. The very first one was exactly what he needed to not only lure whatever vampires were still inside, but also give Cody a heads up that help had arrived.
If Cody was still alive.
No, he would not allow himself to think that way. Cody was still alive. He had to be.
Demetrius held down the plus button for the volume on the boombox, smiling with grim satisfaction as the lights flashed steadily. On the MP4 player, he opened the playlist Shrieky Pete had named Best Praise, then tapped the first song. A loud rush of music burst from the speaker, making him jump. He dropped the music player into the saddlebag and, keeping low, hurried to the back corner of the garage.
The other members of the group were waiting for him. They all stood with their backs against the cinderblock wall, armed with squirt guns freshly replenished with holy water, wooden stakes, and crosses. Eileen wore a string of garlic around her neck and had passed a few bulbs out to everyone else to keep in their pockets.
“That’ll bring them running,” Jugs whispered.
“Yep,” Demetrius said. “And let Cody know we’re out here.”
The sound of movement from the parking lot, audible even over the singer shrieking about being saved, got Demetrius to poke his head around the corner. Xavier and a few other vampires had gathered around the motorcycle, glaring at it and pressing buttons on the boombox. It would have been comical if Xavier wasn’t so terrifying, and so many lives hung in the balance.
With an impatient shriek that matched the singer’s in intensity, Xavier plucked the boombox off the motorcycle. The bungee cords yanked it back in place a couple of times, which nearly made Demetrius laugh out loud. Xavier finally got the boombox loose and crushed it in one big hand. The music died immediately.
“Find them,” Xavier said to the other vampires. “They’re not far.”
Demetrius ducked back behind the corner and looked along their group lined up against the wall. He loved all of these people so much it scared him, and here they were, once again putting their lives on the line to stop a monstrous plot. He sent a silent plea to God or the Universe or whatever entity might be paying attention to save them all from Xavier crushing their skulls as easily as he had the boombox.
The first vampire came around the corner, and Demetrius blasted him with holy water. The vampire shrieked and ran off.
“Get ready,” Demetrius said.
Seconds later, they were swarmed by vampires. Demetrius pressed his back against the wall and shouted as he unleashed a stream of holy water. All along their line, he heard the others doing the same. The vampires tried to fight through the barrage, reaching for them with deadly claws and snapping their fangs, but the holy water did the trick. The vampires raced off into the night, hands over burned and smoking faces.
“I’m out,” Oliver said.
“Me, too,” Jugs said.
“Get your stakes and crosses ready,” Demetrius said. “More are on the way.”
“Where’s the big bad?” Agatha asked. “Xavier?”
“You called?”
The voice was smooth and seductive, coming from above them. Demetrius looked up in time to see Xavier hovering several feet overhead, wings outstretched, and a terrible smile displaying his deadly fangs.
“Oh, fuck,” Dave said.
And then Xavier struck.
Lucia and Tracey helped Cody up the stairs, all three of them grunting and cursing with the effort. His balance was way off center, and each step made his head swim with vertigo. Zenona had gone ahead and cautiously opened the door at the top, keeping watch in the garage beyond. When they were almost to the top, the music outside cut off suddenly, and they paused.
“Shit,” Cody said.
“Come on, hurry up,” Zenona said, gripping the edge of the door with one hand as she nervously looked between them and the garage beyond.
“It’s not easy getting a sasquatch with a closed head injury up a flight of steps, Doc,” Lucia said.
“Sasquatch?” Cody snorted. “Demmy and I fought off one of those, too.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lucia said. “We’ve all read the blogs.”
They reached the small landing at the top of the stairs, and Lucia and Tracey practically shoved him at Zenona.
“Here,” Lucia said. “Take him for a minute. He’s killing my back.”
Shouting erupted from outside, followed by piercing shrieks that had to have come from vampires. Cody stood in place, Zenona holding him steady by one arm, and looked toward the back of the garage. One of the big snow plows had been in for repairs last week, backed in through the oversized roll up door in the rear wall. He recalled John and Bill working on it, and from what he could remember, it had been fixed and just needed to be driven back outside.
Well then, since he was an employee of the DPW…
“Who’s out there?” Tracey wondered.
“Demmy for sure,” Cody said. “And if I had to put money on it, I’d say Amelia, Eileen, Ollie, and my brother. Jugs and Agatha might be along for the ride as well.”
“You forgot someone.”
The voice was like sandpaper over gravel, and Cody thought it was the second best sound he would hear that night. Clarabell stood just inside the front entrance. She clutched a squirt gun close to her chest, and a man’s belt circled her narrow waist twice, wooden stakes stuck between the straps at intervals. The flying saucer decals on her Doc Martens glowed in the dark, because of course they did.
“Never thought I’d say it,” Cody said, “but it’s good to see you, Clarabell.”
“Right back at ya, Stretch. Though you look a little rough around the edges.”
“Edges, top, bottom, and in the center,” Cody said. “But I’m not going down without a fight. You guys have a plan?”
Clarabell held up the squirt gun. “Squirt guns with holy water, wooden stakes, and crucifixes. Eileen has a string of garlic around her neck, and gave us each a few bulbs. Other than that, Demetrius wanted to draw the vampires out with a distraction and have someone sneak in to get you guys free.”
“Well, cross that off your to do list,” Lucia said. “Have any more squirt guns?”
Clarabell pulled a smaller gun from a back pocket and handed it over. Lucia took it and headed for the front door. “I’m going to help.”
Clarabell handed both Tracey and Zenona a crucifix and three wooden stakes. As Zenona and Tracey stood behind Lucia, Clarabell raised her eyebrows at Cody.
He shook his head. “First of all, I’m not going to ask where you got all those crucifixes.”
“I might have a bin of them for just such an emergency.”
“Of course you do.” He looked at Lucia and gestured toward the large roll up door in the back wall. “I’ll meet you around back.”
Lucia frowned. “You okay on your own?”
“I’ve never been okay to be left alone, you know that.”
He watched them slip out the front door. As Clarabell started to follow, he called to her.
“Hey, Clarabell. Come be my wingman.”
Her smile was bright and immediate, and she hurried over to him. He led the way to the snow plow and—with some effort and more than a little swearing—climbed up into the cab. The keys dangled from the ignition, and as Clarabell worked her way up into the passenger seat, he looked over the controls. He’d driven the dump truck a number of times, and this was pretty much the same vehicle, just with a big plow on the front.
“This truck was not built for someone my size,” Clarabell said after she pulled the door shut. “You know how to drive this thing?”
“Easy as pie,” Cody said.
A chorus of loud, terrified screams broke out on the other side of the roll up door. These sounded more human, and that got him moving. He twisted the key, and the big engine started right up with a throaty rumble that sent vibrations through their seats. Pressing the brake and clutch, he put the truck into gear and looked over at Clarabell. “Get ready with that squirt gun.”
“You going to open the door?” she asked.
Cody grinned. “Where’s the fun in that?”
He released the clutch and pressed the accelerator to the floor. The truck lurched forward, the massive blade biting into the aluminum roll up door with a screech of metal. The door tore apart and came off the tracks as the truck plowed through it. Cody looked to the right past Clarabell and saw the people he loved struggling against Xavier and a group of vampires. They were seriously outnumbered, and, it appeared, out of holy water.
Clarabell rolled down her window and blasted the nearest vampire as Cody put all his strength into hauling the steering wheel to the right. The tires bumped up over the aluminum door, pulling it from the blade and leaving Cody’s view unobstructed. Demmy was at the end of the line, by the corner of the building, and Cody’s heart leapt at the sight of him. But Xavier was just about to grab for him, and there was no way in hell that fanged fucker was going to get away with it.
“Target practice,” Cody said. “Hold on.”
“Watch out for the others!”
“I see them.” Cody turned the truck toward the wall, then back, leaving what he hoped was several feet between the blade of the plow and his friends. The transmission shrieked as he jammed his foot to the floor, and he smiled at the satisfying bump and thump of the truck running over the line of vampires.
“Jesus Christ and his dog Spot!”
That raspy voice had to be Eileen, and Cody couldn’t wait to give her a strong hug. After he’d given Demmy the longest, deepest kiss in the history of kisses, of course.
The driver’s door was suddenly yanked open, and Cody shouted. He took his foot off the accelerator by reflex, and the truck swerved slightly toward the wall.
“Look out!” Clarabell screamed.
Cody faced forward again, pulling the steering wheel hard to the left, away from the building and, he hoped, everyone standing against it. Then Xavier grabbed him by the arm and hauled him out of the cab, lifting him up from his seat as if he weighed nothing at all. The only thing that saved him was the stream of holy water Clarabell shot. It hit him in the shoulder, and he screamed and released Cody, who fell to the asphalt parking lot, landing hard but keeping enough of his wits to roll away from the truck’s rear tire.
Asphalt bit into his shoulder and scraped across his arms and temple. Once he came to a stop, he forced his sore and beaten body to move, pushing up to his hands and knees and looking after the truck. He watched it rolling to a stop, Clarabell cursing and shouting from where she still sat inside the cab. Around him, the asphalt was slick with the foul-smelling blood of vampires. He hoped to God no human blood was mixed in with it from his stunt with the truck.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
That boded well for at least some of the humans still being alive.
Someone approached, short and slight, wearing a coverall with, of all things, a damn Ghostbusters logo on it. It was Agatha, and he smiled, happier than he had any right to be at her angry expression.
“Hey, Aggie.”
“You nearly killed us!” she shouted, then she handed him a crucifix. “Take this, you crazy bastard.”
“Love you, too,” Cody said as he climbed to his feet with a groan. “Where’s Demmy?”
“He was at the end of the line,” Agatha said. “Unless you ran him over.”
Cody’s stomach tightened at the thought. He limped forward, Agatha beside him. Vampires had returned, but not as many, and the humans were fighting them back. He saw his brother and Ollie protecting Eileen, and Jugs staying close to Amelia and Otis. But where was Demmy?
Then he saw him. Demmy was, of course, running toward Xavier, a wooden stake gripped in each hand. Xavier had his back to Demmy as he stalked toward the snow plow which had bumped to a stop against the small cinderblock machine shop in the back corner of the yard. As Cody watched, Demmy came up behind Xavier and raised one hand. The raw wood of the point of the stake was white and gleamed in the bright overhead lights.
But the vampire moved fast, ducking out of the way of Demmy’s blow and spinning to face him. Xavier grabbed Demmy by the throat and lifted him off the ground. Cody’s heart kicked in time with Demmy’s feet as both stakes fell to the ground beneath him.
“No!” Cody shouted.
He started forward, ignoring as best he could the dizziness and pain radiating through him. Focusing on Demmy, Cody put one foot in front of the other and pushed himself into a run. The lights overhead gleamed like those above the football field so many years ago, and Cody reached down to pull up the memory of how it had felt to be young and strong and so fucking ready to take on the opposing team. He put every thought into moving back to that time of his life. His steps evened out, and his pace increased. Tightening his fingers around the crucifix Agatha had given him, Cody shifted his attention to Xavier. The vampire was leaning in close to Demmy, fangs bared, and there was no way in hell Cody was going to let another fucking monster bite Demmy. No fucking way.
He reached them and thrust the crucifix up between Xavier and Demmy, pressing it hard against the vampire’s face. The crucifix jumped in his hand and immediately grew white hot, burning his palm. Xavier’s flesh beneath blackened and crackled as smoke billowed around them. The vampire screamed and backhanded Cody, sending him tumbling across the asphalt and losing the crucifix. As he rolled to a stop, he saw Demmy drop to the ground, coughing and holding his throat. He was alive. Thank God for that.
Xavier loomed over Demmy, one hand covering his face, the other clenched into a fist. His wings were extended, and he turned to glare at Cody.
“You can watch each other die,” Xavier said, then he grabbed Demmy by the ankle and dragged him across the asphalt toward Cody.
“Leave him alone!” Amelia approached Xavier, holding up a crucifix, but he swatted her aside, his murderous gaze fixed on Cody.
The rest of their group tried to intervene as well, but other vampires rushed them, effectively blocking any assistance. The Critter Catchers were once again on their own.
Cody tried to get to his feet, but he’d lost too much blood and taken too many hits over the last two days, and he couldn’t find his balance. He sat down hard and looked around for the crucifix he’d dropped, but it was nowhere in sight. So he did the next thing that came to mind. He faced Xavier, supporting himself with one hand, and gave him an enthusiastic middle finger with the other.
Xavier stopped in front of him and sneered. He hauled Demmy around and dropped his leg, leaving him lying beside Cody, groaning quietly. Cody leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips, and Demmy started and opened his eyes.
“Cody?” His voice was a ruined whisper, and it brought tears to Cody’s eyes.
“Yeah, it’s me. I love you.”
“Enough melodrama,” Xavier said, reaching for them.
But something suddenly shoved Xavier aside. Cody looked over his shoulder and saw Xavier lying on the asphalt, pushing himself up and looking around with a stunned expression. The cross-shaped burn mark Cody had left on his face was clearly visible in the buzzing glow of the lights.
“Help me up?” Demmy said.
Cody took his hand and pulled him into a sitting position then put an arm around him. “You okay?”
“Throat hurts,” Demmy whispered. “You?”
“Pretty beat up, but still got my sass.”
Demmy smiled. “God, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“What happened?” Demmy leaned forward to look around him. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Cody saw a sudden blur of movement rush past Xavier, knocking him down hard again. “Oh, shit. Vampire fight.”
“Michael,” Demmy said.
“The doc?”
“Yeah. Has to be.”
And then Cody saw Michael rush up and stand above Xavier. Michael looked about as rough as Cody felt. His face was bloodied and his clothes torn in places. But the quiet and mild- mannered doctor stared down at Xavier with a terrible fury that sent a chill up Cody’s spine.
“Your reign of terror ends tonight, Father,” Michael said.
“Not quite yet, my son.”
Xavier lunged up and grabbed him. The two traded blows across the parking lot, the sounds painful enough to make Cody flinch. He and Demmy sat and watched, neither of them with enough energy to try and intervene. The rest of their group were fighting off other vampires, including Lucia, Zenona, and Tracey, who’d lost her glasses and was squinting as she jabbed a stake out in front of her.
With a sudden, vicious move, Xavier grabbed Michael by the throat and lifted him slightly off the ground. Michael struggled, prying at the fingers around his throat, but from the looks of it, Xavier was stronger. This might not end well for Michael and the rest of them.
“Xavier, you old fuck!” Cody shouted.
That caught Xavier’s attention, distracting him enough to give Michael the opportunity. He twisted free of Xavier’s grip, dropped to the ground, and continued turning as he circled around behind him. Michael grabbed Xavier’s right wing where it connected to his shoulder and, continuing to turn his body, tore it off with a loud, awful sound.
Xavier dropped to his knees, head tipped back as he screamed into the night. Thick, dark blood flowed down his back. The arm Aldrik had broken hung at a crooked angle along his side.. Michael tossed aside the wing, and Cody saw it dissolve into a puddle of thick, black fluid. The overhead lights shimmered along the surface, and a rising sense of hope grew inside Cody. They could win this battle. Michael would defeat his father and then take out the other vampires in town. Another monster case done and over with, thanks to, interestingly enough, one of the monsters.
Michael looked angry and determined as he approached Xavier from behind. Cody wondered how he would finish the job. Would he drive a fist through Xavier’s chest as Xavier had done to Aldrik? Or would he tear off his other wing, followed by an arm, and then a leg, until he finally decapitated him? No matter how Michael did it, Cody was going to enjoy being a witness.
Zenona screamed from the line of fighting at the back of the garage, attracting Cody’s and Michael’s attention. She was struggling with two vampires who were close to overpowering her.
Michael moved off in a blur of movement, scooping up the two stakes Demmy had dropped and driving them into the backs of the vampires attacking Zenona, piercing their hearts. The vampires shrieked before dissolving into large puddles of dark fluid, leaving Michael holding a stake in each hand. Zenona put a hand on his cheek and smiled gratefully, and in that single moment, Cody could see the depth of feeling between the two.
He wasn’t sure she needed a vampire as a boyfriend, but who was he to judge?
They exchanged a few words before Michael turned away. Gripping a stake in either hand, he slowly approached Xavier who knelt with his head bowed. Runners of thick, dark blood ran down his back. His arms were at his sides, the left held at an awkward angle behind him.
“Your time on this Earth is at an end, Father,” Michael said. “You’ve brought too much pain to far too many people.”
Xavier didn’t acknowledge Michael, and Cody figured the older vampire was suffering too much to respond. After all, he’d just had a wing torn off, and his other son had broken his arm. Only now that he looked closer, Cody could see the long fingers on the hand of his broken arm were pressed tight together, the sharp claws grouped like a single, deadly blade.
Michael stood before Xavier and held his arms out to the side, stakes held tight. Before Cody could shout a warning, Xavier struck. The move was so fast, Cody was unable to track it. One second Michael stood holding the stakes, the next, Xavier’s broken left arm had stabbed up and into Michael’s chest. Michael’s expression shifted from determination to shock. The stakes dropped from his hands and clattered to the asphalt. Xavier shouted in pain as he yanked his hand back, clutching the dark, slick heart in his fist. Michael collapsed, his body dissolving into a puddle of black fluid as somewhere over by the garage Cody heard Zenona scream, “No!”
“Oh, my God,” Demmy said. “Oh, my God.”
“Fucker!” Cody shouted, anger sending a rush of adrenaline through him. “He killed Aldrik the same way.”
“He did?”
“Yep. Saw him do it. And now it’s his turn.” He took Demmy’s face between his hands and kissed him. “Think you’ve got enough gas left to go all Critter Catchers on his vampire ass?”
Demmy smiled, showing blood-smeared teeth. “Fuck yeah.”
“I’ll go to the front and distract him,” Cody said. “Toss you one of the stakes. We’ll tag team this fanged motherfucker.”
They helped each other stand and took a few seconds to get their balance. Holding hands, they limped toward Xavier who still knelt on the asphalt, the blood of his fallen son spreading around him. His left arm hung crookedly at his side, and his remaining wing drooped across the asphalt.
Cody gave Demmy’s hand a squeeze before releasing him, and they split up. Demmy moved behind Xavier while Cody limped around to his front. He carefully bent and picked up both stakes, tossing one to Demmy who caught it like a pro.
“Hey, fuck face,” Cody said. “Now that you’ve killed both your kids, you’ve got the Critter Catchers to deal with.”
Xavier raised his head, glowing red eyes narrowed. “You think you can defeat me?”
“No, not me on my own.” Cody adjusted his grip on the stake, ignoring the feel of the slimy black vampire blood that already coated it. “But together, my husband and I can do anything.”
“Fool,” Xavier said with a snarl, showing his fangs. “I will tear off your heads and drink from your necks.”
Demmy held his stake overhead with both hands then plunged it into Xavier’s back. His red eyes widened in shock, and as he reached his good arm around behind, Cody drove his stake into Xavier’s chest. He released it and, using what little balance he had left, planted the sole of his boot on the end. Bone cracked, sending a vibration up the stake into Cody’s leg. Xavier’s mouth dropped open, the lights overhead gleaming along his fangs. The red eyes latched onto Cody’s, glaring up at him as the evil red glow faded to black, and then, with a sudden splash, Xavier’s body dissolved into thick, dark blood that spread out around their feet.
Cody took several steps back as both stakes clattered to the ground. He looked at Demmy across what remained of Xavier, then both of them lurched forward to grab each other in a tight hug, dropping to their knees with a splash in the gruesome mess.
“I’m sorry,” Cody said. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
Cody pulled back and looked at him, holding Demmy’s face in both hands. “I was afraid I’d never see you again and get to say that to you.”
“Me, too.”
“We can hunt all the monsters you want.”
Demmy’s laugh held no humor. “I don’t think I want to hunt anymore monsters.”
“You know we don’t have a choice, right?”
“Yeah, I know. But for now, I just want to sleep for—look out!”
Cody felt claws dig into his shoulders and yank him backward away from Demmy.
“You killed our master!”
They dropped him on his back, and he looked up to find vampires surrounding him, eyes glowing red, fangs flashing. Before they could attack, however, the points of stakes burst through their chests, splattering him with foul-smelling dark blood. Cody closed his eyes and clamped his lips tight, wincing as he felt the cold, slimy splash of vampire blood all over him.
“Jesus H. Tater Tot loving Christ, Bonker, you’re a mess.”
Cody had never been so happy to hear Jugs’s stupid nickname for him.
“Somebody help him up,” Demmy said. “Wipe off his face.”
Hands helped him sit up and someone wiped the gunk off his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw his brother Dave kneeling in front of him, holding a ruined shirt and smiling.
“You look like the end result of a cheap porno.”
“I need a beer,” Cody said.
“Oh, pine trees. You need a doctor,” Amelia said. “We’ve called an ambulance.”
Demmy dropped into the puddle of vampire blood beside him and pulled him in close. “We’ll go together.”
“Shared ambulance ride? So romantic,” Cody said.
“He’s fine,” Lucia said. “Everyone check the area, make sure there are no more vampires around here.”
“Somebody find John the Bastard,” Cody said, his eyes slipping closed as he laid his head on Demmy’s shoulder.
“We’ll find him,” Lucia said.
“Tell him I want double overtime,” Cody said.
“Fuck that,” Demmy said. “Triple.”
Over the conversations around them, Cody heard someone crying softly, and he opened his eyes. Zenona knelt a short distance away, head down and hands pressed into the puddles that had once been Michael.
“Help me up,” Cody said.
Demmy didn’t ask why or tell him to take it easy. He helped him stand, and then supported him as they approached Zenona. Cody slowly lowered himself to his knees beside her and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as she put her arms around him, her crying intensifying into sobs. Then, because he didn’t know what else to say, he just kept repeating it as he held her tight.