Exsanguination Page 14

  “Quite. You’ll be safer here.”

  As the front doors closed, Phillip turned to Owen.

  “A little excitement in your life, bud?”

  “You can say that again,” he fixed himself a drink. Kind of bizarre though. Off go the women on a kind of dangerous mission after telling the men to stay home so they’ll be safe.”

  “I prefer it that way. I’m not up for kidnapping and murder, thank you very much.” Phillip responded and sipped his wine, “but if it prevents a war, I can accept it.”

  “Who do you think would win?”

  “Crunch the numbers. Within a month, humans would be outnumbered five to one by a far superior foe.”

  “Well, let’s hope they realize that if the time comes and they negotiate a peace.”

  “Indeed, but another problem would arise. If there were that many vampires and many fewer humans, feeding could become a major problem.”

  “Hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Let’s hope Vanessa has.”

  Miles away, in London proper, Vanessa and Nikki pulled up slowly to the kerb in front of an Indian restaurant across the street from Reginald’s apartment building. Police cars were swarmed all around the front of the building.

  Vanessa pounded her fists on the steering wheel. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” Of a sudden, her head snapped to one side. On the sidewalk to her left, stood the man they were looking for. She rolled her window down and waved to him with a whisper.

  “Reginald!”

  He stared at them for a moment and then, faster than the eye could see, he made it to the side of the car and moved like a flash to get in the back seat.

  “Keep down,” Vanessa barked. “There will be cameras everywhere.”

  They rolled away from the kerb and moved slowly down the street. Half an hour later they’d returned home with their charge in tow. Coming through the doors, Reginald was obviously terrified.

  “Relax, you’re safe now.” Vanessa smiled. “I’ve got a special bottle of wine set aside for special occasions. Would you mind accompanying me to the wine cellar? I’m not sure of its exact location,” her manner was casual.

  He seemed to breathe easier and followed her from the drawing room. She returned ten minutes later, alone.

  “Well, that part is taken care of,” Vanessa poured a fresh drink, as did Nikki.

  “You mean . . .?” Phillip didn’t complete the question.

  “Kill him? Yes, of course I did,” she responded with no sign of remorse or emotion.

  “Was it really necessary?”

  “I couldn’t leave him running around the city. He’d have been caught in no time at all. Bloody London with all of its damnable cameras would see to that.”

  Phillip sighed. “Well, I’ve been thinking about the war and I don’t think that turning should go as far as it might. Think about it. All of a sudden you’ve got all these vampires and many fewer humans. Feeding would become a problem.”

  She nodded. “I’ve already calculated all of that out and, of course, you’re right. The turning would stop at the appropriate point where the humans would not be wiped out but they would realize the necessity of suing for peace and coexistence. That said, we’re going to try to avoid war in any reasonable way we can.”

  Antoine, two men, and a woman had let themselves in the front door and entered the room.

  “Well?” Vanessa looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  Antoine shook his head. “He’s already been moved from the morgue to heaven knows where. I would guess some experimental laboratory, but, oh to watch all those people run screaming when the rats swarmed in. It was delightful.”

  Vanessa nodded. “Or, if he somehow turned and escaped, once he woke up, there would be really no way to hold him.”

  “Let us hope,” he replied.

  “And let’s hope that they believe he was an aberration and that Reginald was a one-off. If they suspect there are more of us, they’ll start looking. Fortunately, we blend pretty well with humans.

  Phillip frowned. “Excuse me a moment.”

  He left the room, returning ten minutes later with a grey, plastic, gun-like object in his hand. He pointed it at Vanessa’s forehead and looked at the readout on the back. Then he did the same to Owen. Sighing, shaking his head, he handed it to Vanessa.

  “There’s your vampire detector. Your temperature is considerably lower than that of a human.”

  She looked at the laser thermometer and then frowned at Phillip. “Well, aren’t you just the harbinger of doom?”

  “Sorry,” he shrugged. “On the other hand, assuming he’s escaped, they won’t be able to examine him further and might not be able to connect the dots.”

  “Let’s hope they don’t,” she turned to the group at large and sighed. “Send out for pizza?”

  There were mumbles of approval and Phillip found himself amazed at the ease with which Vanessa handled crises.

  “So, what did you do with Reginald?” he whispered to her.

  “Let’s just say he lost his head, shall we?”

  “Eww,” Phillip’s lip curled in disgust. “And the body?”

  “I’ll deal with that tomorrow.”

  “How?”

  “Not entirely sure,” she shrugged, “but old Father Thames will probably be involved with the disposal.”

  “Sleeping with the fishes?”

  She laughed. “Oh, you Americans.”

  “So tell me something.”

  “Hmm?” she tilted her head and smiled.

  “If snacking doesn’t turn someone, what does?”

  “Taking him or her to the very brink of death or feeding them blood from yourself. Once you do that, they’re going to turn.”

  “Mmm,” his eyebrows furrowed. “Then why would Reginald’s dinner turn? It’s my understanding he was completely dead. The involvement of the morgue would indicate that. If Reginald is dead, all they really have is a body several quarts low on blood and a video. It will remain a mystery. The human race and the authorities are about as ready to believe in real vampires as they are men from Mars. It just isn’t going to happen except for the tin foil hat people. The case will be boxed up and filed away in some dusty archive, especially with Reginald never being found.”

  The pizzas arrived and the group took them to the dining room. As they began to eat, Vanessa patted Phillip’s thigh.

  “Get up.”

  “Huh?”

  “Get up,” she insisted as she stood up with him.

  “My darling, Phillip, is going to explain why we actually have very little to worry about this evening,” she announced to the group.

  “Explain it to them as you did to me.”

  He reddened as he began speaking and when he’d finished, there were relaxed smiles around the table.

  Antoine clasped his hands together in front of his chest. “Oh, Vanessa, where can I get one just like him?”

  “You can’t,” she smiled as she hugged Phillip’s arm. “He’s unique.”

  “There may be a problem, though. Joe’s mind wasn’t wiped before he left.”

  Vanessa held up a finger and picked up her mobile. She walked away from the group. Returning in a few moments, she smiled.

  “Joe is on his way over.”

  “How did you manage that?”

  “I promised him a very sensual experience and to lift his masturbatory compulsion.” she grinned.

  In less than an hour, Joe was knocking on the door. Vanessa welcomed him in with a whisper.

  “You needn’t worry about Nikki anymore. She’s found someone else.”

  “Glad to hear it,” he smiled perfunctorily.

  “Wait right here in the foyer.”

  She went to the drawing room and spoke with Nikki for a moment. Joe looked apprehensive when both women returned to the foyer. Before he could make a movement or utter a protest, Nikki pinned his arms to the wall and sank her teeth into his throat. After about ten minutes, she withdrew and Vanessa appro
ached him, locking eyes.

  “You no longer have an extraordinary need or urge to edge yourself. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” Joe said woodenly.

  Vanessa looked at Nikki. “Finish it.”

  Nikki continued feeding until Joe was ready to drop to the floor. He was at the edge of death. She withdrew and caught him, carrying him into the drawing room.

  “Put him on a settee, Nikki. He can recover there.”

  Vanessa smiled. “Well, I suspect we’ll have no more to fear from our newspaper man.”

  “Why?” Phillip queried.

  Vanessa chuckled. “Because, when he comes to, he’ll discover that he’s one of us.”

  “You turned him?” Phillip looked shocked.

  “Nikki did. He can’t report on us without endangering his own existence.”

  “Well, that’s one way to deal with it, I suppose,” he sighed.

  Nikki stepped into the conversation. “His blood was different from the first time.”

  “Really?”

  Nikki nodded with a grin. “I think his sexual frustration had the desired effect. His blood had a definite headiness to it.”

  Antoine frowned. “How did you change his blood?”

  Nikki explained what they’d done to poor Joe.

  “Oh, my poor boy at home. How you are going to suffer!” Antoine grinned in anticipation. “Possibly, if it is a long enough time, he’ll be like a virgin again?”

  “There’s a good chance, Antoine,” Nikki smiled.

  The sound of a groan reached their ears.

  “It appears that Joe is coming to,” Vanessa smiled. “I’ll give him the wonderful news.”

  Vanessa pulled up a chair next to the settee and patted Joe on the shoulder. He moaned.

  “That was fantastic! I’m sorry I passed out. I feel kind of weird now, though.”

  She smiled crookedly at him. “That’s because you’re one of us now, Joe. Isn’t that just wonderful?”

  “What!” he sat bolt upright. “What have you done to me?”

  “Turned you.”

  “Oh, God, no!”

  She nodded. “We’re going to take you out and get you fed.”

  “I’m not doing that shit!” his mouth felt funny. He ran his tongue over his upper teeth.

  Vanessa patted his shoulder. “That’s alright. There’s no great rush. You’ll just become increasingly hungry. Ultimately you won’t be able to stand it. You’ll find it’s not like a hunger in your gut as much as your whole body and mind. It can become quite painful after a time,” she gestured toward the hearth. “Would you care to join us and have some wine?”

  Joe followed her, looking miserable.

  “Have some pizza, Joe,” she raised her glass. “Everyone, toast the newest member of our group. This is Joe, intrepid newspaper reporter and Nikki’s previous food source.”

  Owen found himself glaring at him. He resented Joe’s previous relationship with Nikki, short though it was.

  “Joe was going to do a marvellous piece on vampires in the newspaper but I suspect he’ll be discarding that project.”

  He sat in a chair, looking totally dejected, beginning to feel muscle aches associated with the hunger. The pizza would do no good. Vanessa sensed it.

  “We’ve got a few hours left, Joe. I’ll take you out to dinner if you’d like. The discomfort is going to get worse and, if you don’t take advantage of this time frame, you’ll be feeling much worse all day tomorrow.”

  He nodded glumly without saying a word.

  She smiled. “Everyone, please enjoy yourselves while Joe and I are gone. It shouldn’t be too much more than an hour.”

  Phillip stood up. “I’ll tag along if you don’t mind.”

  She inclined her head. “Of course, darling.”

  They returned an hour and a half later, Joe looking much more comfortable. The only people remaining in the drawing room were Nikki and Owen, the others having left for their homes.

  XIV

  The following evening, Vanessa was sitting with Phillip in the dining room, looking at the newspapers that had been delivered earlier in the day. She sighed, shaking her head.

  “What is it?” Phillip asked.

  “It seems that the papers have picked out perfect shots from the viral video. Look at this! ‘Vampires in London?’ and there’s not a damned thing that can be done about it.”

  Phillip thought for a moment and then began to smile.

  “We need to buy a 3-D printer, my dear.”

  “Why?” she frowned, shaking her head. “And what is it?”

  “I’ll bet you’ve never seen Halloween hillbilly teeth, have you?”

  “Sounds quite objectionable and terribly American.”

  “You are such a snob, Vanessa,” he grinned. “We’re going to make fangs and sell them. Firstly to all the folks in the Goth bars and then on the open market.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “First we make impressions of your fangs when they’re extended, including the roof of your mouth. Then we scan them into the computer. Finally, we feed the data to the printer and it recreates the fangs and palate in high impact plastic.”

  “Okay . . .?” she asked tentatively.

  “We take them into Goth clubs and sell them for five quid apiece along with some dental adhesive. They’ll go like hotcakes! It will totally debunk the vampire legend recently created on the Internet!”

  She smiled widely at him. “I am ever so glad you were stranded after your tour of historic houses!”

  Phillip laughed. “Me too.”

  “Just make them dull enough that they won’t pierce the flesh. There would be people bleeding out all over the place.”

  “Good evening!” Nikki called out as she and Owen entered the room, followed by Joe.

  “Nikki!” Vanessa exclaimed. “Your brilliant brother has come up with a plan that will totally rid us of the nuisance of the viral video.”

  “Really?”

  Vanessa explained the process that Phillip had outlined.

  “That’s my brother for you.”

  Vanessa turned to Joe. “And how are you doing today?”

  He sighed. “At least I’m not wanking all the time anymore.”

  She laughed lightly. “The compulsion has been removed.”

  “It was like a mandate! I couldn’t stop!”

  “Well, after our meal here, we’ll watch a movie and then go out. You’ve got quite a bit of learning to do. I would assume that you’ve noticed your improved hearing?”

  “Yeah,” he grinned and nodded, “that’s really cool.”

  Nikki really enjoyed watching Vanessa laugh so she slid Blazing Saddles in the player and started it. The video library had been filling up until Phillip’s credit card finally died. As Nikki predicted, Vanessa laughed until she cried. Close to midnight, they met in the drawing room. Vanessa’s mobile rang.

  “Hello, Antoine.”

  There was a pause and she began rattling off something extensive in French. Another pause ensued and she continued in English.

  “Alright, try to find out who started with those gadgets. Very few people were aware of that trick and the only ones I can imagine might be suspects would be the few that came in with you the other evening when Phillip demonstrated it,” she nodded. “Make the rounds of the other clubs and warn our people to get out.”

  There was a pause. “Yes, track them down and, when you figure out who it was, bring him or her here,” she ended the call and looked at the others.

  “It appears this is going to be a stay at home night. There’s trouble.”

  Phillip frowned. “What kind?”

  “The bad kind. Two constables just attempted to arrest a vampire in The Broken Fang.”

  “Well, was he drunk? Acting up? Fighting?”

  “Believe it or not, they were of the belief that he was actually a vampire.”

  “What the hell would possess them to think such a thing?”<
br />
  Vanessa made a sour face. “It seems that one of the vampires that Antoine brought over the other night is actually wanting to start a war. He brought in several laser thermometers and demonstrated how they worked to a bunch of the women in the club so they could find the genuine article, so to speak. One of the women was an undercover constable. Shortly after, several policemen came in and she demonstrated the use of the device.”

  “Oh, Jesus. And they arrested one?”

  “They tried but, when he realized what was happening, he slipped out the front door in the blink of an eye. Others did likewise.”

  “So the war is on?” Nikki asked, licking her lips.

  “Almost,” Vanessa sighed and then she turned to Joe.

  “Do you have any connections in the media? Television – that sort of thing.”

  “Some. Why?”

  “I’ve got to get out in front of this thing before it starts. The vampire the police attempted to arrest realized, quite wisely, that discretion would be the better part of valour. Had he been hot-tempered, he could have easily killed them. It’s why I had Antoine go around to as many other clubs as possible and warn our kind off.”

  “Shit,” Phillip muttered.

  “There’s no time to bring everyone here for a council meeting. I have a plan. I’ll follow my gut instincts.”

  “Do tell.”

  “Joe, can you get me on a TV show for an interview?”

  The man winced. “I don’t know. Under what pretext?”

  She gave him an incredulous look. “I’m a vampire. Would that be sufficient?”

  Phillip looked at her, wide-eyed. “You’re going public?”

  “We both are, darling. You’ll be with me.”

  “On television? Me? No way! I can’t do that!”

  “Of course you can. You’ll be there to support me. Wouldn’t you want to do that?”

  His shoulders slumped and he groaned. “I guess.”

  “Good,” she smiled and dialled her mobile.

  “Antoine, notify the rest of the council that I’m going public. I don’t wish them to find out from anyone but me,” after getting confirmation, she ended the call.

  “Can you try to get the thing set up, Joe?”

  “I’ll make some calls. I think your best bet would be the Susan Harris show.”

  Phillip frowned. “Wait a minute. Isn’t she like England’s version of Jerry Springer?”