HUNTERS OF DARKNESS

Nightfall meant that an attack was imminent. Surely the predapires would have made preparations. Surely.

Sebastian did approach the house in force this time. With him was nearly every vampire in his clan, nearly every loyal, the two big SUV’s, all black with blacked out windows, and the van that pulled in to surround the house on three sides disgorged over thirty heavily armed vampires and loyals. Sebastian wanted his beach house back and meant to kill every predapire in his way, and now he seemed to have the means.

About ten of them, dressed in black commando gear and bullet proof vests, ran toward the beach. Others stormed the back door, still more the side door near the carport. Sebastian himself, with eight escorts of his most powerful vampires, stormed the front. The front door was unlocked and ajar and one of the big vampires kicked it open before he burst in, training his weapon to the right. The one behind him trained his weapon to the left. Another stepped between them and swept the room with his from left to right. Still another entered and fanned out with the others.

They all stopped when it appeared to be clear, their eyes finding Vanessa right in the middle of the circular room. Her hands were bound to a long rope that was wound around one of the exposed cedar rafters that made up the ceiling.

She looked terrified and her eyes darted from one to the next, then, as the vampire master strode in, she cried, “Master Sebastian!”

He stopped a few feet inside the door and stared at her with no expression. Other vampires entered behind him and he ordered, “Clear the rest of the house. Kill any that remain here.”

They went to task, rushing in an organized push into the back of the house and the kitchen to meet those who assaulted from the other direction.

With slow, purposeful steps, Sebastian strode toward the vampire girl, his eyes locked on hers as he neared, and he stopped only a few feet away.

“I knew you would come!” she said in a gasp. “I knew you would not just leave me to them!”

He folded his hands before him and just stared at her.

“I did everything you wanted,” she went on. “I befriended them, I won their trust… I did everything you said to do, and they did just as you said. They left me here when they discovered that I betrayed them. They left me…” She trailed off as he raised his hand to her.

“Just be silent,” he ordered in a low, calm voice. His eyes swept the room, before training back on her. “So, they just left you for me to find?”

She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “Wendy would not let the others kill me, but the others would not allow her to take me with them anymore. They felt that you would kill me when you arrived, but I know you won’t. I’m your favorite and I knew you would come for me.”

He lowered his gaze and nodded again. “I see.” One of his men returned from the back of the house and he looked to him and demanded, “What did you find?”

Raising his chin, the big, bearded vampire reported, “Apparently they pulled out about an hour ago. We found where they had used the beds and eaten from the kitchen, but they left nothing behind but her.”

“And that rickety old truck?” the vampire master pressed.

“Gone,” the vampire replied. “There is a trail it left as it pulled off of the beach and it appears to have made for the highway. They had to know we would return, and in force.” He looked to the bound vampire girl. “They had to.”

Sebastian nodded again and ordered, “Set up a perimeter around the house and keep close watch. This isn’t over.” As the vampire turned to carry out his command, the vampire master turned his eyes back to the bound girl. “It is far from over.”

An hour before sunup, the wind on the beach still blew rather hard and Vanessa did not resist as her master drug her by the arm toward the cross that was once again standing and had two of Sebastian’s commando clad vampire soldiers awaiting her.

Her hands still bound, she looked to the cross with horror in her eyes and protested, “But, Master! I did everything you wanted me to! I obeyed your every command! Please, just take me home! I can still please you as I used to! Please, Master, I beg you!”

He did not speak or even acknowledge her as he took her forcibly to the cross, and once there he handed her off to his men, one of whom had already thrown a rope over one arm of the cross and reached for her bound hands as they arrived.

Vanessa’s eyes were filled with tears as she watched the big vampire tie the rope around the rope that bound her wrists, passing it a few times between her arms before he knotted it tightly between her hands.

Looking over her shoulder to Sebastian as her hands were pulled over her head, she begged, “Master, please! I… I’m your favorite! I have served you well for three hundred years!”

With his hands folded before him, he simply nodded to her and assured, “Your service is appreciated, my pet. Very much appreciated. But now, I’m afraid your services will no longer be required. It is time for you to disappear.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she slowly shook her head, her mouth quivering as she whimpered, “But… Please, Master. Please. I beg you. I love you!”

Sebastian’s features hardened and he approached with slow steps, moving aside slightly as the other end of the rope that held her hands up was wound around her waist and the cross. He circled around to end up in front of her, never taking his eyes from hers, and with one step was only a couple of feet away from her. He reached to her and gently took her jaw in his hand and slowly ran his thumb over her lips. When she seemed to calm, he grabbed onto her throat and slammed her head back against the cross, his lips sliding away from his teeth and fangs as he growled, “You love me, do you? You love me enough to allow that creature to defile you today? Do you think I’ll ever touch you again knowing that you gave yourself to my enemy?”

“Master,” she whimpered, “I did so in your service. I did that—”

“Quiet!” he shouted. “You’ll never feel the touch or intimacy you crave from me again. In a few hours all you will feel is the sun burning the flesh from you.”

Vanessa watched dumbly as he just walked away, his men following. When he was halfway to the house, she screamed, “Stop! You can’t do this to me!”

Looking over his shoulder, he smiled and corrected, “I have. Enjoy your final hours of life, my pet.”

Before Sebastian entered the house, he ordered, “Have her watched closely. I think they are still close by. Post one man at the edge of the dunes on that side of the house.” He pointed to a place at the edge of the last dune before the beach, one covered with knee high grass, then he pointed the other way. “One right over there. You are to stay here and watch them both.”

“Yes, Master Sebastian,” the big vampire complied.

Sebastian strode into the house and the strain was finally beginning to show in his eyes. He had his enemies sorely outnumbered this time, but he also knew what kind of damage they could do even when the odds were against them. Stopping in the middle of the living area, he set his hands on his hips and looked around him. Seven of his vampire clan were sitting leisurely on the furnishings, four of them female, and a few of the loyals were milling about to see who needed what. Looking to the door, he summoned, “Tabitha, come here.”

One of the female vampires, one with long blonde hair, a thin, attractive face and very pale skin and bright red lipstick, rose from the round sofa and approached him with slow, sultry steps, her dark eyes locked on him. She also wore commando gear, but it fit her rather tightly and showed off the curves of her thin frame. As she reached him, she asked, “How may I serve you, Master Sebastian?”

“Go to the van,” he ordered. “Get me that girl we found at the gas station.”

A smile curled Tabitha’s lips and she confirmed, “At once, Master Sebastian.”

He watched her as she swung her hips the whole way to the door, watched as she looked over her shoulder at him before leaving the house, and nodded.

Another vampire approached from behind the Master and observed, “She has vied to be your favorite for decades now.”

“That she has,” Sebastian confirmed. “I think she may just take Vanessa’s place.”

“Do you really mean to kill Vanessa?” the vampire behind him asked.

“She’s a mouse,” the Master confirmed, “and she outlived her usefulness a hundred years ago. These days I need one at my side who doesn’t cling to a conscience left over from her former life.” He looked to the other vampire and smiled. “I need one a little more… ruthless.”

“Careful with that,” the other vampire warned as he also smiled. “Some of those ruthless ones can turn on you.”

Sebastian looked to the door again as it opened and raised his chin. “And that is when they become expendable.”

Tabitha held the girl by the arm and forced her into the house. Her captive was in her late teens and wearing a tattered red tee shirt and denim shorts. She had no shoes, her hair was not well kept and it was clear that she was a runaway. With her hands bound behind her, she struggled in the powerful grip of the vampire woman who easily controlled her through brute strength.

Reaching her Master, Tabitha presented the young captive to him and proudly said, “As you commanded, Master Sebastian.”

“Thank you, Tabitha,” he offered with a nod, reaching for the girl. Even as she whimpered and shrank away, he seized her neck and pulled her brutally to him, and without a word he opened his mouth wide, drawing his lips away from his fangs, and bit her hard right under her ear, plunging those horrible fangs all the way into her neck. As the girl screamed, he did not seem to care as he fed upon her. The girl struggled for only a few seconds, then her eyes rolled back as she was drained beyond consciousness, and in a moment he had drained the life completely from her. When he was finished, he tossed the girl away, ordering, “Now get rid of her.”

Tabitha caught the girl’s lifeless body as it fell and looked to her Master as he wiped his mouth with the side of his hand, and she smiled as she asked, “Into the sea, Master?”

He nodded and confirmed, “That will do. Just make sure you take it beyond the surf, and strip off that clothing so that you don’t get it wet and ruin your equipment again.”

Her smile broadened and she threw the girl’s lifeless body over her shoulder. “Skinny-dipping in the ocean sounds yummy, my Master. Perhaps you will join me?”

“Another time,” he assured. Motioning with his head to the back of the house, he commanded, “Just get rid of it, then stay with the guards outside. Make certain that Vanessa remains where she is until sunup.”

“That will be a great pleasure, my Master,” Tabitha assured as she strode by him with the dead girl.

“Well!” Sebastian declared as he clapped his hands together. “That was refreshing!” Looking around him, he ordered, “Everyone up. They could be here any moment and I intend to be ready for them. How many do we have patrolling the grounds?”

The vampire behind him replied, “Ten, Master Sebastian. I also have two in each room watching the windows. All angles of approach are covered and I have two men on the roof.”

“Just try to remember,” the Master Vampire warned, “that we’ll have to attack them in force and do as much damage with the guns as we can before they reach us. They can absorb far more damage than we can and they are far stronger. We’ll need every advantage we can get.” He took the pocket watch from his vest and opened it, raising his brow as he looked at the time.” Sunup should be in about forty minutes. If they mean to save dear Vanessa then they will strike well before then.”

“What if they do not intend to save her?” the subordinate vampire questioned. “They could consider her as expendable as you do as she said they do.”

Raising his brow again, Sebastian sighed, “That would be truly unfortunate for her, wouldn’t it? However, I don’t see them wanting to sacrifice her at this point. I think she was left here to bait us in, and I expect them to strike us any time.”

The other vampire looked down and shook his head. “I don’t like this, Master. It just doesn’t feel right. Why would they leave her only to mount a rescue attempt to retrieve her later?”

“They’re up to more than they’d like for us to know,” Sebastian informed, his eyes on the front door. Drawing a deep breath, one meant to calm long undead nerves, he ordered, “Have our loyals relieve our vampire brethren out front, then have those watching the back put on their daytime assault gear. They could make us wait a while, or they could strike soon.”

A thunderous explosion out front rattled the whole house and all eyes went to the front door and the flash that penetrated the blacked out windows.

“Doesn’t look like they mean for us to wait,” Sebastian observed.

Vampires from the back of the house, brandishing their weapons, rushed to the front door and the vampire who was watching those in the back ran through the living area to take his Master’s side.

The door was opened and they stormed out, keeping their weapons ready. Sebastian strode out among them, toward the fire that raged in the driveway just outside. His eyes were fixed on the burning wreckage of the big van, then they shifted to the black SUV that sped away toward the main road.

A snarl on his lip, Sebastian ordered, “Check the other car!”

Two of his soldiers held their weapons ready as they stalked toward the remaining SUV, and two others circled around it to back them up. It was only a few feet behind the van and the fire lapped at the front of it from the van’s back window.

Grabbing a vampire beside him, Sebastian ordered, “Get that last one away from the van before we lose it, too.” He turned back to the house, seeing the vampire who had been watching the back right behind him, and he barked, “Get back to your post!” He watched with wide eyes as the vampire wheeled around and ran back into the house, then he followed him through, all the way to the back door.

Out back, everything was as it had been. He looked to the two guards who watched the girl that was bound to the cross, then he looked to the girl herself, seeing her golden hair blowing in the wind. Her head was down and she appeared to be sleeping, and his eyes narrowed.

The guard on the right, already wearing his daytime gear which included a full dark face shield and helmet, turned and offered a wave, then he looked back to the bound vampire girl.

“At least they had the good sense to stay at their posts,” Sebastian growled. “Don’t move from this spot again until you see her burning, understand?”

“I understand, Master Sebastian,” the vampire assured.

“And get your daytime gear on,” the Master Vampire ordered. “Don’t wait until you’re already singed this time.”

He turned and strode back into the house where most of his clan and loyals were awaiting him. “All loyals get armed and outside. You are our first line of defense. Do as much damage to them as you can before they get into the house. Go!” Turning to the back of the house, he strode that way, toward his private suite where his daytime gear awaited him.

Sunup arrived and he stood just outside of the house with those of highest rank in his clan. All wore helmets with heavily tinted face shields and all of their bodies were covered. No skin showed at all. They all watched as the vampire girl writhed and screamed as her skin smoked and blackened, and they watched longer as she was consumed by flames. This death took a while and the vampires who watched all seemed to enjoy the blonde vampire in her final, agonizing death throes. Soon, she slumped down, and in a few moments her body disintegrated into gray, blackened ash and charred bones, and dropped a little at a time to the sand at the base of the cross.

Satisfied that she was dead and gone, Sebastian turned and strode back into the house, and all of his loyal vampires followed him.

Pulling off his helmet and face shield, his gloves and the black scarf that was around his neck, he felt a certain emptiness, a sense that he had let something go forever, and this showed in his eyes. As he handed his daylight gear and his vest to one of the vampires walking with him, he said, “I’m going to retire for the day. I am not to be disturbed unless our enemies attack.” He paused and raised his chin. “And send me Tabitha.”

With that last command, he entered his suite and closed the door behind him.

This was the very suite that Ryan and Wendy had shared and he snarled as he smelled their presence. Still, it had been a long night and he found himself weary. Stripping off his clothes, he slipped into the bed and pulled the black sheet up to his chest, then he laid an arm over his eyes and tried to relax. He ordinarily would have one of his vampire women at his side by now, but he did not allow himself to be distracted by his truant wench.

A knock at the door roused his attention and his ire and he barked, “What is it?”

The door opened slightly and one of the larger vampire men looked in, nervously informing, “Master Sebastian, we are unable to find Tabitha, and the guards out back near the beach have also disappeared.”

Sebastian raised the arm he had over his eyes and stared up at the canopy over his bed, and his eyes widened.