Exsanguination Page 16

  She stopped on the stairs. “Darling?”

  “Yes?”

  “You don’t have five quid.”

  “Won’t need it. I’ll win.”

  XVI

  “God! What have I done?” Vanessa sighed as she stared at the four-inch-thick stack of mail on the desk in the drawing room. She began tearing open envelope after envelope. There were invitations to speak at universities, requests from medical companies for information and, apparently due to her announced age, even an offer for prepaid burial.

  “Oh,” she smiled, “here’s the best one yet. It reads ‘Darling, marry me or I will kill myself! It’s signed Frederick.”

  Phillip laughed and picked up another letter. “This is one I expected. The Royal Historical Society wants to have a sit down with you when it’s convenient.”

  “I might actually enjoy that if I’m not too busy planning my wedding to Frederick,” she said dryly. “Dare I turn my phone back on?”

  “May as well.”

  Vanessa pressed the button on the side of her mobile and it booted up. Tossing the device on the table, she stared at it. Nothing. “Well, that’s good.” She no sooner said it than it rang. She picked it up and held it to her ear.

  “Uh huh. I see. Let me think about this and get back to you,” she disconnected the call.

  “Who was it?”

  “Vanity Fair wants to do a photo spread on me.”

  “Well, that doesn’t sound too bad. You’re definitely more than beautiful enough,” he responded.

  “Aww, you’re so sweet,” she smiled, patted his cheek, and kissed him.

  “You going to do it?”

  “You know? I just may. As long as there are no luxury coffins involved. It might make me seem more human-like and less threatening,” she hesitated, shrugged and dialled her phone.

  “Well?” Phillip looked at her questioningly.

  “I told them it would have to be tomorrow as I’m on a tight schedule. They agreed.”

  “I can’t wait to buy a bunch of copies!” Phillip laughed as Nikki, Owen, and Joe entered the room.

  “What’s so funny?” Nikki asked.

  “All this mail that Vanessa’s getting. I have a feeling it’s just going to get worse – tip of the iceberg so to speak.”

  “Get used to it,” Nikki said with a grin, “within days yours will be the most recognizable face on the planet.”

  “By the way, you can probably forget about the 3-D printer plan,” Phillip said. “I don’t think it will be needed anymore. On the upside, if you called for donors, they’d be lined up from the gates to the front doors,” he frowned. “Nikki, how’s your vision?”

  “Like an eagle, dear brother.”

  “Have a look at the front gates, will you?”

  Nikki shrugged and left, returning moments later. “Oh boy. I’ve never seen so many people with cameras.”

  “Paparazzi for the vampire,” he smirked. “Got enough movies for a couple of days? I have the feeling they’ll get tired after a bit.”

  Vanessa shook her head and sighed. “I’m going to take Nikki downstairs for some weapons training.”

  “Weapons training? What are you talking about?” Phillip responded.

  “The armoury. Your father was quite excited about it, what with being an American and all,” she shrugged. “I may as well take you all down there.”

  There were shocked gasps as Vanessa swung the steel door open.

  “Holy shit!” Phillip exclaimed. “You could take over a small country with this load!”

  Vanessa laughed. “Not quite but it’s a good selection,” she reached onto a shelf, took down a pair of 9mm fully automatic, stainless steel Barettas and handed them to Nikki with a smile. They gleamed in the fluorescent light. “I think you’ve always wanted these. They’re my gift to you.”

  “Oh my God! Oh my God!” she exclaimed in excitement, jumping up and down. Finding a set of thigh holsters, she strapped them on. “I’m in heaven! I’m in goddamned heaven!” she was shaking with delight.

  “Vanessa, do you think it’s really going to come to this?” Phillip asked, the worry on his face evident.

  “I don’t know but it’s always wise to be prepared.”

  “Is this what I think it is?” Owen was staring at a weapon on the other side of the room as if it was a holy artefact.

  “That, Owen, is my pride and joy. It’s an M134 minigun,” she grinned.

  Owen turned to Phillip. “Jesus, Phil! This is what Arnold used in Terminator 2!”

  Phillip looked at Vanessa. “This is crazy, Vanessa. It won’t be a war you can fight with guns!”

  “I know,” she chuckled, “but guns are fun and they have their uses,” she gave him a wink.

  He shook his head and then watched Vanessa instruct Nikki on using the pistols. Fortunately, both weapons had suppressors. They weren’t soundless like most people believed but they helped with the noise a good deal. After half an hour of Nikki target shooting with great delight, they adjourned back to the drawing room. Vanessa asked Nikki to keep her guns in her room.

  The intercom from the gate buzzed and Vanessa pressed the button.

  “If you reporters don’t go away, I’m going to report you to the police for harassment.”

  “This is the police, mum. Kindly let us through.”

  She pressed the button, opening the gates. “Oh good, there are quite a few of them and they’re pushing the reporters back.”

  One of the cars, a plain one, began rolling down the drive. After a few moments, it pulled up in front of the house and Vanessa opened the door.

  “Detective Chief Inspector Fallow, mum,” he held up his warrant card. “May I come in?”

  “Of course. I do recognize you from the other night. The dogs?” she smiled and gestured him to come inside. Two constables followed him. As they entered the drawing room, everyone else eyed them with suspicion. Only Vanessa seemed relaxed.

  “Tea, Detective?”

  “No thank you, mum,” the man responded as he sat down.

  “Very well,” she nodded. “To what do I owe this visit from London’s finest?”

  “We’d like you to come downtown to answer some questions for us, mum.”

  Phillip stood up and glared at the policeman. The constables shifted nervously. Vanessa held up her hand and he sat back down, obviously not happy with what was transpiring.

  “Why go to the inconvenience, Detective. I’m right here, ready to answer any questions you might have,” she spread her hands.

  “I understand, mum, but we’d still like you to come downtown. It’s just a formality. To get you on the official record – that sort of thing.”

  “Of course,” she stood with a smile.

  Phillip jumped to his feet. “This is ridiculous and it’s harassment!”

  The two constables tensed and Vanessa turned.

  “It’s alright, darling. I’ll be fine. Shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours at most.”

  “That’s right, mum. It shouldn’t take long at all.”

  “If I’m not back within three at the most, call Antoine and tell him I said to pull the trigger.”

  “I understand,” he responded, grim-faced.

  An hour later, Vanessa found herself in a room, sitting at a table, facing the detective.

  “Now, Detective, why don’t you tell me what this is all about?” she asked calmly.

  He nodded. “Once again, I’m sorry for this inconvenience, mum.”

  “Don’t give it another thought,” she smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

  “What do you know of a Benedict Larsen?”

  “I understand he was the man responsible for the death of that poor fellow in the video.”

  “We believe so but what do you know of him?”

  “Well, the only thing I know is that, apparently, he seems to be difficult to find, unless of course, you’ve already located him.”

  “So you don’t know him personall
y?”

  She shook her head. “Never met the man.”

  “Really? If what I saw on the tele is to be believed, you claim to be a vampire and it would seem that this Benedict Larsen thinks he’s one as well and you say you don’t know him?”

  “So, let’s assume, for the moment, that both he and I are vampires. Based on that I should know him personally?”

  “I think it’s possible, yes.”

  Vanessa leaned forward and smiled. “Detective, do you have the slightest idea of how many vampires populate London?” she could hear his heart speeding up.

  He didn’t respond to the question.

  She leaned forward. “We are legion, detective. We exist in numbers greater than you would imagine,” she sat back. “We live and work side by side with you . . . yes, even in the police department. That said, we’re civilized and peace-loving – doing no harm,” she sat back in the chair, a slight smile on her lips.

  “I wouldn’t call murder ‘no harm’,” his expression darkened.

  “An unfortunate aberration and very regrettable,” she glanced at her watch.

  “Need to be somewhere, Countess?” he smiled slightly.

  “Not really. I’m just finding this whole business rather tiresome. You’re barking up the wrong tree with this Benedict Larsen business and I’m wondering how long it’s going to take you to realize that,” she cocked her head. “Now, if you’ve no more questions, I’ll be going.”

  “You know I can hold you without charge for quite a while, mum?” he relaxed back in his chair and smiled.

  “Do you really think that would be wise, detective? You might find yourselves in the media, accused of harassing a minority. How would that look?”

  His face hardened. “You’re free to go.”

  “I’ve always been free to go, detective. I’m here at my pleasure, not yours,” she stood. “Have a good rest of your night,” she reached the door and turned. “You might want to keep your windows closed, detective,” she smiled and winked at him.

  The policeman made a sour face.

  Not far from the police station, she hailed a cab and headed home. A few minutes out, she phoned Phillip.

  “I’m on my way in, darling. Please open the gate.”

  The cab nosed its way through the media and pulled up in front of the house. Vanessa entered the front door and made her way the short distance to the drawing room. Phillip rushed to her.

  “Are you alright? They didn’t get abusive, did they?”

  She hugged him, shook her head, and smiled. “No. That clod of a detective wanted to know what sort of connection there might be between me and Benedict. Nothing he couldn’t have asked me right here. I suspect he just wanted to feel important and powerful.”

  “And pull the trigger?”

  “War. Let me show you,” she pulled out a drawer under a small occasional table and withdrew a syringe. It contained a small amount of red fluid. The red was so dark it almost appeared black. Vanessa held it up.

  “Vampire blood. Mine to be specific. There are several hundred of these down in the wine cellar that I’ve created over the last couple of years,” she made a stabbing motion with it. “One stick, hit the plunger, and the change takes effect quite quickly, eliminating the need for the time-consuming process of draining of a human. You have a new vampire almost immediately.”

  She held it out to Phillip. “Keep it with you. As unstable as things are, you might have to use it to stay alive. Anywhere on your body is fine but a vein or artery is fastest.”

  He rolled it around in his fingers while staring at it and then looked at her.

  “I’d really rather you do it conventionally.”

  She smiled at him. “I know you would and, if there’s time, I’ll definitely afford you and I the pleasure although, to be frank, two quarts is almost too much for my small tummy.”

  “Do you think it’s really going to go down? The war?” Nikki asked.

  Vanessa shook her head. “I don’t know. Because of the Benedict situation, it’s possible we may see more attempts at arrests. The police are going to assume that there’s a vampire out there who has some sort of knowledge of what happened and where Benedict’s disappeared to.”

  “You did get rid of the body, didn’t you?” Phillip raised his eyebrows.

  Vanessa nodded. “Already taken care of. Both body and head are at the bottom of the Thames but, for obvious reasons, I don’t want the police showing up here with a search warrant.”

  “Yeah,” said Joe, “I don’t imagine they’d be too delighted with the armoury.”

  “I think we should be proactive. Start turning some now. Why wait until the police come down on us?” Nikki said.

  “We’ll see. If there are more arrest attempts, we’ll take action.”

  “You know?” Phillip frowned. “I saw a news story a while back where some Russian assassin had something build into his umbrella that contained a toxin. He tapped it against the leg of his target to inject a tiny bit of poison. Worked like a charm.”

  “I can’t imagine being able to acquire boxes of such devices from Amazon,” Vanessa responded.

  “True,” he sighed.

  The following evening there were several more arrest attempts, none of which were successful.

  XVII

  After hearing of police action, the group went to The Broken Fang. As they entered, Vanessa walked to the small stage at the back of the club and picked up a microphone. She signalled to the bartender to turn on the P.A. and told the DJ to stop playing.

  “May I have everyone’s attention, please?”

  The room quieted down quite a bit and most eyes went to the stage.

  “You all know, very likely, who and what I am. I am the real thing.”

  There was murmuring through the large crowd.

  “Who, here, would like to become a real vampire? Raise your hand high.”

  She was amazed by the response. Over half of the club’s customers waved.

  “And who offers their blood for feeding?”

  It appeared the balance of the group fell into that category.

  “Excellent. You’re all invited to a very special event at my home. It’s just outside London and is called Smythe House. You should have no problem finding it with your G.P.S. The event takes place now. I need all of you to come – those who would be vampires and those who enjoy the attentions they afford. Tonight you will all get your wish.”

  There were cheers throughout the building as she stepped from the stage. The club emptied quickly, leaving some of the staff and about half a dozen patrons behind.

  The ballroom on the top floor of Smythe house wasn’t incredibly large but it sufficed. Nikki, Joe, and Owen were tasked with guiding the constant flow of people to it. Vanessa had set up a table at the front. On it was a box containing syringes.

  “I want all of you who wish to disconnect from the human race on this side of the room,” she gestured to her left, “and all of you who wish to donate blood on that side,” she indicated the right wall.

  The crowd separated and Vanessa picked a man at random from the left wall.

  “What’s your preference for feeding? A man or a woman?”

  At his response, Vanessa gestured to a girl on the right to come forward. She looked at the man.

  “Feeding is an art. Since this is your first time, you’ll take about half a pint. If you take too much, she’ll lose consciousness and, more than that, she’ll die.”

  The girl looked frightened.

  “If she dies, I will personally remove your head from your body. Have I made myself clear?”

  He nodded quickly and she picked up a syringe and looked at the crook of his arm. Within a minute of the injection, he opened his mouth and moaned.

  “Oh . . .man . . .”

  “Look at her neck and open your mouth.”

  As he did so, his fangs extended their full length.

  “Instinct will lead you to the carotid. I will monitor h
er heartbeat and you will listen as well. When I tell you to stop, you’ll stop. Got that?”

  The man nodded.

  The girl let out with a short scream and then began to experience the pleasure. He gulped quickly, without finesse and Vanessa intervened in short order.

  “That’s enough. Learn restraint. Drink slowly and enjoy the experience.”

  “Oh God, that was amazing!!” he responded. The girl sported a goofy grin.

  “Go. Go over there,” Vanessa indicated an empty area in the room and then raised her voice. “All of you on each side, line up single file. When I issue instructions to each of you up here, those behind you should listen up. I don’t wish to turn my words into a repetitive litany for each of you.”

  The next vampire candidate was a woman in her twenties. She looked at Vanessa with worshipping eyes.

  “I’ve always wanted to be you.”

  “Well, if you’re sharp and live long enough, you might accomplish that,” Vanessa smiled at her.

  And so it went. Pairings were made, injections were given, and donors bled. When it was finished, Vanessa spoke loudly.

  “While I don’t want to turn this event into a speed dating occasion, I would suggest that you pair up with someone you, at least, like or can get along with for a while. That person will be who you snack from on a nightly basis. This is not permanent unless you want it to be. As far as relationships are concerned, it’s no different than it was before,” she made a circular motion with her hand. “Mill about. Pair up, if possible.”

  Two and a half hours had passed since the arrival of the club members. After most of them had paired up there appeared to be a few more donors than needed. Vanessa clapped her hands loudly in the air.

  “Attention, please!”

  Everyone turned.

  “Before I give instruction and cautions, I want to speak to those donors who, for whatever reason, weren’t selected to donate,” she smiled. “Be at The Black Death club tomorrow night.”

  An hour later, each of the new vampires had demonstrated their ability to move quickly, were cautioned about direct sunlight and the advantages of overcast days. They were also made aware of their abilities with hypnosis.