Chapter 4 #2
But I did hear the crickets and the sounds of animals prowling in the bushes at night.
And—few people ever noticed—but there was this soft sound the natural world made as the moon slowly crawled across the sky.
It was a sort of cooling off, the heat of the land escaping as the shadows grew.
Maybe nobody else could hear it, but after listening to it for over a decade, I had come to recognize it.
I strode out of the station, heading over to my Jag.
I wasn’t sure where to start, but I had already decided to trace Laddy’s steps.
I didn’t expect to find her tonight, but you never knew.
Once a vamp was on a roll, they could take out a houseful.
Of course, there was a point where even a vampire was satiated, but how many necks they went after depended on the individual.
Some vamps binge-fed, just like some people.
Nobody was sure why, but then again, I really had my doubts whether anyone had studied vampire physiology in depth.
It also crossed my mind that if someone had, it would be an interesting read.
I made a mental note to check up on that—I could browse the stacks of the local library online.
I drove to the part of Seattle where Laddy said he had been attacked.
It wasn’t a bad part of town, but—like most of Seattle—the sidewalk was on a steep grade, and there were a lot of alleys and side streets.
Which meant people hiking up the street would likely be tired and slow, and the foot traffic wouldn’t be as heavy, so it would be easier for a vamp to hide in the shadows and grab someone passing by.
I saw the cross-street that Laddy had given me and pulled into an empty spot next to the curb.
This time of night, most of Seattle, except for the downtown and Broadway areas, was fairly vacant.
As I stepped out of my car, it occurred to me that leaving a Jag on the street unattended at this time of night might be asking for trouble, but I wasn’t planning on taking long.
The street was empty, but I was interested in the alleyways.
As I headed for the nearest one, I focused on my inner radar.
Vampires could often sense other vamps—it was like recognizing one of your own.
Almost a territorial thing. I closed my eyes and reached out, seeing if I could sense other vamps nearby, but nothing rang a bell.
Finally, I silently began to stride down the alley.
I glanced around, but the only sounds were coming from the bugs rustling through the dumpsters behind the businesses.
Then I saw a form. Whoever—whatever it was—it was near the back door of a pizza place.
The restaurant was closed for the night—it was past eleven by now—but I was fairly certain that I was seeing a person there.
I whispered a soft plea that, whoever it was, wasn’t dead.
I didn’t want to deal with another dead body.
But as I approached, the figure shifted, and I could make out a covering of newspapers falling to the side. An old man sat up—at least he looked old. He blinked as I stopped in front of him, and in the faint light reflecting down the alley from the street, I barely made out the fear on his face.
“I’d like to ask you a couple of questions,” I asked. “I’ll pay you if you answer.”
He shifted, sitting up to press his back against the brick of the building. “Don’t hurt me,” he pled, his voice soft.
“I’m not going to harm you,” I said. But my fangs were down—I was on the hunt, after all—and my eyes must have been glowing.
“Vampire.” His voice crackled.
“Yes, I’m a vampire,” I said, squatting down so that I was at his level. “I’m looking for another vampire—a beautiful woman, with golden hair, who’s pale and fair. She may have blood on her clothes.”
He slowly began to stand, keeping one hand against the wall. Looking more confused than anything at this point, he staggered to his feet, pressing back against the bricks. “What…where am I?”
My antennae sprang up. Something wasn’t tracking right.
If he were just a homeless old man, chances are he’d know where he was.
He began to shake, and he shook his head, his gaze darting around.
I steeled myself. He wasn’t just some old man, nope—I could see that in his movements.
He was too quick, and even though he was shaking, he wasn’t feeble.
No, I could see the strength rippling through him.
He looked at me directly now, and his eyes were starting to glow crimson, and his fangs lowered as reason left his eyes. He hissed, lunging at me, and I darted out of the way.
Crap, he was a vampire—he must have just turned.
Newly minted vampires usually had superstrength thanks to the body-shock of just being turned. And he wouldn’t know what to do, so he’d attack anyone or anything nearby.
Without a thought, I flipped front-wise, a la Bruce Lee, bringing my heels raking down his face. As he staggered back—more from the shock than my attack—I launched myself over his head to rebound off the wall and land behind him. I grabbed him around the neck and held on tight.
He was strong, but I’d been a vampire a lot longer, and the longer you were a vampire, the stronger you got.
I glanced around the alley and saw a bottle lying next to where he’d been sleeping.
Holding him with my right arm, I swept the bottle up with my left hand and smashed it against the wall, so I was holding the jagged neck of it.
He struggled, but there wasn’t much he could do in this position, and I brought the bottle back, then thrust it forward, driving it into his back to pierce his heart. He froze, then turned to dust. The dust trickled down, then swept away in the breeze.
Coughing, I shook off the dust and dropped the bottle.
I leaned against the brick, steadying myself as I stared at the homeless man’s nest. I hated having to kill a new vamp—they were so fragile, so feral, and usually unable to control themselves if their sire left them to their own devices.
Dredge had done that, given me an order and then sent me out into the world in a blood-hungry rage.
This man hadn’t asked to be turned, of that, I was sure. He’d probably been simply another chew toy for the vampire, and that she’d taken a second victim told me she wasn’t going to stop. If I didn’t find her, her string of victims was going to stretch out until she was found and dusted.
There were leaders of the vampire community down in the underground who might be able to help me, but I didn’t know any of them.
They took rogue vamps seriously because the chaos produced by an uncivilized vamp could destroy all the work being put into securing the Vampire Rights Act.
I did, however, know a couple of vamps from the bar, and they might be able to introduce me in case I needed their help.
I gingerly sorted through the man’s effects, finding a wallet that had no money and a Veterans Administration card.
It had his ID on it, so I pocketed it. Chase could see if he had any family in the area.
I also found a couple of unopened bottles of booze, and a set of dog tags.
The man had been in the army. Feeling abruptly sad that a soldier who had probably seen battle had been left on the streets like a cast-off tissue, I pocketed them, dumped the booze in a nearby Dumpster, and then—with no sign anywhere that my prey was nearby—I headed back to my Jag, wondering how we were going to catch this woman.